Firefight
by JackieLupin
Summary: AU. Just when Haruno Sakura thought she was on the right track to becoming a successful, solo kunoichi, Hatake Kakashi unintentionally screwed everything up. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**"****Firefight****" by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.**

**-**

Yeah, you can tell me all your thoughts

About the stars that fill polluted skies

And show me where you run to

When no one's left to take your side

But don't tell me where the road ends

'Cause I just don't wanna know,

No I don't wanna know

-**Thriving Ivory**, "Angels on the Moon"

**-**

**CHAPTER ONE**

**-**

She knew she was in deep trouble the minute a simple touch made her tremble and flush. What once had been just an affectionate ruffling of her hair now seemed so much more, to her at least; whenever their skin touched, it would send tiny tingles through her spine. Where once she had seen her sensei, a man who was both leader and friend at the same time, she now saw a man. A very attractive man with that cliched mysteriousness about him that Sakura could not help but find irresistible.

One touch had changed everything

They had been sparring. It wasn't anything unusual that hadn't happened before, for although she was talented, the Copy Ninja had years and experience under his belt. When Kakashi had finally gotten through her defenses and knocked her off her feet, she took him down with her. Maybe it was the way they landed; his weight on her wasn't uncomfortable, just their sudden proximity in more intimate areas. Maybe it was the way he had cradled her head as they fell to soften the blow. Maybe it was the odd look in his eye. Or maybe it was the fact that his lips had been inches away from hers.

Sakura knew that at the age of twenty-three she had already found the man who was destined to be her companion. The only problem with that was the particular man her heart had chosen. It was unfair, really, how horrible her love life had been. Her first love had been Sasuke. He had left Konoha and Team 7 only a few months later in an attempt to sever all ties and defeat his brother. Her second love had surprisingly been Kiba; their relationship was carefree and affectionate, for the most part. But then Kiba had fallen in love with Hinata and Sakura had been left alone. Just when Sakura had sworn off all men and prepared to dedicate herself to a solo shinobi lifestyle, this specific twist had all but shoved her off her path and unravelled all the defenses and barriers she had thrown up to protect her heart from men.

It was so unfair. And this man was probably the worst of the worst. If Sasuke had been unsocial, her ex-sensei was probably three-times that. If Kiba had been distracted and detached even before he fell in love with the sweet Hyuuga heiress, Kakashi was probably just as bad. And the porn. The mere sight of those books in _public_ made her eye twitch with irritation.

"I'm doomed," she had muttered to herself after she realized that she actually may have fallen in love with the highly eccentric, highly _elusive_ Copy Ninja.

And as she stared up at the ceiling of her small, cozy apartment around 9:30 in the morning, Sakura couldn't help but repeat those sentiments to herself. "I _am_ doomed." With a heavy sigh, she rolled onto her side to gaze out of the window at the bustling scenery of Konoha. The sun was shining into her room freely; the sunny cloudless day would prove to be stifling and hot. A perfect day - in Naruto's opinion - to meet and train. She scoffed, wishing that she could get out of it, having absolutely no desire to see her ex-sensei. It was bad enough that she looked for him wherever she went and was disappointed merely when he wasn't around. It would be worse to be forced to suffer those feelings for Kakashi in such a physical context like training. He would guess her infatuation for him in half a second with his Sharingan.

When she next glanced at the clock, it read 10:00. Deciding that she had lingered in bed long enough, Sakura threw the blankets back and all but rolled out of bed. She padded quietly into the bathroom across the hall and shut the door behind her. After she had relieved her full bladder, she turned on the shower and undressed, occasionally sticking her hand in to check the water temperature before stepping inside.

"He had better not be there today," she hissed at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall before slamming the shower door shut with a bang.

-

_My luck may actually be holding out_, Sakura thought, partially relieved when an hour after she had arrived at the training grounds there was still no sign of Kakashi. "I don't think he's coming today," she called dryly to the ever-impatient Naruto who was high up in an ancient oak tree scanning the area for signs of a mane of silver hair or a small orange book.

Naruto laughed and jumped down from the tree. "We'll just start without him."

Sai, who was leaning against the same tree that Naruto had just been up in, merely nodded. "We have waited long enough," he said simply, his eyes creasing into his fake smile. Sakura rolled her eyes at it, but Sai didn't notice; he was too busy meticulously packing away his precious drawing book and ink brushes in their individual containers.

"Yamato-taichou!" Naruto yelled after looking around for their temporary sensei, "Where'd you go? We're gonna start! Kaka-sensei probably isn't coming today!"

To their right, the underbrush rustled and parted as the tall ex-ANBU shinobi walked to them. Sakura felt her chest grow tight as she remembered that Yamato had served under Kakashi when they had been in ANBU together. Suddenly a desire came over her to question him about Kakashi and the many missions they had spent together. She wondered how much more he knew about her and Naruto's old genin sensei then they did. She was sure he had learned some details about him! But then Sakura clamped down on that thought process. She didn't want to violate what was Kakashi's business alone. Even after all this time and the ordeals they had gone through as a team, she still didn't really know Kakashi. He had never let anyone get close to him after the demise of his own team and sensei.

She must have let some of the desperation and hurt show on her face, for a hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. She looked up at Yamato and smiled apologetically. "You alright, Sakura?" Yamato asked, his concern written in his eyes.

"Gomen," she said, "I'm fine."

Yamato didn't look convinced, but he did not press her for details. He was a very collected person himself, so she knew he would understand her reluctance in sharing anything that was... well, personal.

Naruto, however, lacked that kind of understanding. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately after Yamato released her shoulder and walked deeper into the training grounds. Sai followed him, though not before glancing back at them curiously until the dense vegetation obstructed his view. "Sakura-chan, you okay? Is it anything I did? Do I have to beat someone up?"

Sakura chuckled. "No, Naruto, you baka. I'm okay, really."

"If you're sure." He looked at her. "You could tell me, you know."

She stared up in his solemn blue eyes, debating what his reaction would be if she told him. _No_, she thought inwardly, _He'd either try and kill Kakashi or force us together. And besides, I'm supposed to be forgetting about my... feelings... for Kakashi. Admitting them to Naruto would mean that I expected them to last. And that would make them real. _Out loud, she said, "Thanks Naruto, but really, it's nothing. I just don't want to have to go to work after this."

Naruto grinned. "Is Baa-chan giving you all of her normal shifts now so she can go drown herself with sake?"

"No!" she giggled, but they both knew it was true. "Tsunade-sama gave them to me because I can handle anything that is thrown at me. I've been able to heal injuries for years now. I guess she just figured I could use the money, since we haven't been on a mission in nearly a month."

"I know!" Naruto groaned, "I feel so cooped up in Konoha; maybe we can bug Baa-chan to give us a mission soon!"

"To get you out of her hair, I think she'll agree."

"Yeah, me t- Sakura-chaaaaaaan! That wasn't nice!"

Training passed away the rest of the morning and also took a chunk out of the early afternoon. Three o'clock rolled around before Sakura knew it and she happily excused herself - Naruto and Sai were fighting, their skills so closely matched that no one appeared to have an advantage over the other - after bidding the collected Yamato a warm goodbye and ran home to wash away the blood, sweat and dirt that all but coated her body.

She slowed down her breakneck pace a couple of blocks from her apartment to enjoy the sunshine. Now that she wasn't exercising, the warmth from the sun's rays felt nice against her skin instead of burning. A faint breeze that she hadn't detected earlier blew in from the east, ruffling the leaves in the wind and providing a welcome respite from the heat. As she passed, many other Leaf villagers exited their homes to happily relish the wind. She couldn't help but smile as a little girl escaped her careful mother's clutches to run out into the light and splash around in a puddle from the rain the night before.

Her sudden good mood all but evaporated when she thought she glimpsed a tuft of silver hair heading in the opposite direction.

-

A half hour later, Sakura climbed the stairs to the entrance of the Konoha Hospital and let herself in. She hung up her jean jacket and smoothed down her lab coat over her dark sweater and tan pencil skirt, suddenly wishing she had forgone the heels for a more comfortable shoe. But hell, her legs looked damn good in them. It was almost worth the pain in her toes and the arch of her foot.

She had barely tugged her skirt down when the quick clicking pace that walked with such authority caused her to look up with a smile. That had to be her shishou; only Tsunade walked with such a confidence in her step and face that even the beautiful Ino would sigh with envy as she passed. The Hokage rounded the corner and smiled at her student. "Sakura, right on time," she greeted gruffly.

Sakura laughed. "Of course, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade too grinned. "You get it from me, you know." They both knew she was teasing; Tsunade-sama was almost as bad as Kakashi when it came to being on time for all events, from meetings with the stuffy council members to all social engagements. The thought of Kakashi reminded her of what she had been so curious about.

"Have you seen my old sensei, by any chance?"

The Godaime fixed her with hazel, questioning eyes but did not pursue her curiosity on the matter, something that Sakura greatly appreciated. "No," she finally answered, "Not since this morning. He has border duties tomorrow with an ANBU squad, so I ordered him to remain in the village for the time being."

"Oh," Sakura remarked as nonchalantly as she could, hiding behind her facade a rather silly disappointment. Why hadn't he come to see them? Then she frowned; she had to STOP this attraction for her old sensei before it interfered with her judgement any more. This was stupid. Kakashi did not really care about her feelings, nor did he about Naruto's. He hadn't made an effort to see them in nearly a _month_! So why the hell was she still moping over his absence? If anything, she should be thankful; this distance between them would help her heart to realize that its feelings were just a passing fancy that weren't really real. "Thanks, Tsunade-sama."

Her mentor patted her on the shoulder. "You're a good girl, Sakura," she murmured quietly, "Too good to get caught up with a man like him."

Sakura spun around with a gasp at the Hokage's words, her cheeks flaring in embarrassment. "T-Tsunade-sama!" she stuttered, but the Hokage was already strolling down the hall, her high heels accenting her every step.

For a few moments, she just stood there in the middle of the empty hall, shocked to her core. _How did she...? Am I that transparent? _Then she shook her head at her behavior. This was not the time to mope; she had work to do!

Sakura had just walked to the front desk when a frantic nurse hurried up to her, clutching multiple files in her hands. She had waist-length black hair and a small oval face. She was pretty and sweet but rather forgetful and annoying to work with. "Sakura-san!" Manami called anxiously, handing her one of the thick manilla files, "Tanaka-san is back! His fever came back and his skin is really yellow. He said that-"

"Thank you," Sakura interrupted firmly but kindly, as Manami's quick update was drawing the attention of some of the patients waiting to be seen in the side room, "I will look into it right away. Now, what room is Tanaka-san in?"

"Room 6," Manami answered.

Sakura quickly strode down the hallway, her high heels clicking against the floor and echoing off of the walls. It was a little eerie how quiet the hospital was at the moment. She then shook her head to clear her thoughts. She had a patient to heal. Finally reaching room 6 halfway down the hallway, Sakura gently knocked on the door and then opened it. Mr. Tanaka, a middle-aged balding man, looked up when she entered with obvious relief on his large face. "Good afternoon, Tanaka-san," Sakura greeted him politely, taking in his yellow features and glazed eyes in just one glance. _Jaundice and fever_, she thought to herself, mentally trying to match up Mr. Tanaka's symptoms with any known sickness.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a seat in the available chair and opening up the file to view his medical records.

"Not so good," Tanaka-san joked weakly, clasping his sweaty hands together nervously. "My fever came back, and when I looked in the mirror I realized my skin had changed its color."

"Do you have any other symptoms?"

"My...my joints ache. And I've lost almost all appetite. When I eat, I usually vomit."

She surveyed him through lowered lashes. His large cheeks were tinged red with fever, though the rest of his face had a yellow sheen. The yellow was what had her concerned. _Well,_ she thought, _We'll see what happens after the urine test._ She got to her feet and rummaged around in the cabinets; she pulled out a small cup and lid and handed them both to Mr. Tanaka. "We'll find out what's going on. I'd like to get a urine sample from you to test. Have you had any trouble going to the bathroom?"

"No," Mr. Tanaka replied, getting to his feet shakily. Sakura led him out of the room to the bathroom.

"Leave the sample on the counter when you're done, and then meet me back in your room. I will be back shortly to take a blood sample and then run all of the tests that we normally do during physicals, just to make sure we haven't missed anything."

After Tanaka thanked her and entered the bathroom, Sakura strode back down the hallway. She entered room 6 and pulled out a plastic syringe and tube and placed them on the sterilized counter. Then she slammed open his file once more and thumbed through the pages, wondering if she might have missed some detail that would explain Mr. Tanaka's current symptoms.

Five minutes later the heavy man reentered the room and took a seat. His hands, Sakura noticed immediately, were now shaking. "What is it, Tanaka-san?" Sakura asked nonchalantly in an effort not to startle the man.

He cleared his throat and responded shakily, "My urine was... dark."

Her head snapped up to look at him. "Dark? In color or was there blood present in your urine?" _Blood?_

Mr. Tanaka shook his head. "I don't know," he said heavily.

_Time for different tactics,_ Sakura thought, picking up the syringe and gesturing for the man to give her his arm. She quickly sanitized the area from which she would draw the blood, then used her index finger to feel around underneath the skin for a suitable vein to draw from. She drew only a small vial of blood, then removed the needle. "Alright," she said in an upbeat tone, "We will run some tests on the blood and urine to see what the problem is. In the meantime, I'm going to look around in your body for myself, if I have your permission."

Mr. Tanaka gazed at her wearily. Most civilians were rather afraid of chakra being used on their body, and it appeared that Mr. Tanaka was no different. Nevertheless, he agreed with a reluctant. "If you must."

Gently, Sakura concentrated a small amount of chakra into her fingertips, then pressed them into Mr. Tanaka's arms. Her energy slowly seeped through the man's arms and down into his core, searching for any abnormality in the surrounding tissues. Nothing registered at first, only the large amount of white blood cells that seemed oddly high. Then something large and sickly drew her attention; Mr. Tanaka's liver seemed very swollen and ill.

She knew what his illness was, even without the blood and urine test that would only confirm it. Everything added up.

"Tanaka-san," Sakura said, withdrawing all of her chakra from his body after altering the healthy liver cells so they would not be affected by the same disease, "You had a severe case of hepatitis B. I have healed most of your liver, but with some more medication I think we can avoid any permanent liver damage and you'll soon be back to normal."

Tanaka-san seemed troubled, then relieved, then anxious. "How soon should I start my medication?"

She scribbled out the prescription, then handed it to the man sitting across from her. "As soon as possible," she answered with a smile, "No need to worry, Tanaka-san, this illness is definitely curable."

-

Sakura stood outside of the hospital near the back entrance, arms wrapped around herself and eyes closed, simply enjoying the cool night breeze. She was thankful that Mr. Tanaka had come in to the hospital as early as he had. If he had waited any longer, she was afraid there would have been much more serious complications. Hepatitis B was treatable, but that didn't make it any less frightening. It _was_ a life-threatening disease if left untreated.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. With a weary sigh, Sakura opened her eyes and waited to be found. It was always like this. She had given up even trying to hide to enjoy a short break because no matter where she went, Manami always seemed to find her. It was like she had a homing chip installed in her or something, for her tracking skills - for a civilian - were rather extraordinary.

Sure enough, the brunette soon came slamming through the doorway, completely out of breath. "Sakura-san!" she called while the pink-haired kunoichi inwardly groaned, "We have another patient!"

"What is the problem?" she inquired patiently, wondering why Manami couldn't just take care of it herself. She was competent enough, afterall.

"This woman-"

"What is her name?"

"Oh, I don't know!" Manami fumbled around with the chart in her hand and managed to open it without spilling the mess of papers out onto the sidewalk, "It's Goto Chiasa. She's in her forties and complaining of fatigue, a sore throat, and and a high fever."

Sakura fixed her emerald eyes on Manami. "Those sound like pretty common symptoms. Are you sure this needs my personal attention?"Manami shrunk a little underneath the kunoichi's unwavering gaze. "Well, I-I guess I could..." she said sheepishly, flicking her long dark hair out of her face and closing the file with a small snap.

Sakura smiled and placed a hand on Manami's arm, regretting the harsh approach she had taken with the younger woman. Manami _was_ a very nice girl who didn't mean any harm. It was just a little annoying to always have her rushing around, hot on her trail to take another patient when she was perfectly able to do it herself. "Manami, you are a very capable medic. I'm sure this is well within your control."

It was worth a hit to her pride to see Manami's oval face light up with a confident smile. "Hai, Sakura-san. Arigato, arigato." Then Manami was away again down the hall.

Sakura sighed in relief when she was positive Manami wasn't in earshot anymore and turned her back on the door. A sudden chuckle made her jump.

"Very skillful," Tsunade-sama congratulated her with a wicked grin as she walked forward into the light, "I could not have handled that better myself."

"Shishou, you scared me!"

The Hokage chuckled again, then handed her a small cup filled to the brim with sake. "Here you go, gaki," she said affectionately, "Drink up."

Under any other circumstance, Sakura probably would have refused with the excuse of working. However, now she was beginning to understand why Tsunade drank so much. Alcohol did have a calming effect on one's body in sparing amounts. And one drink really couldn't hurt. Besides, Tsunade seemed to know that she needed it. It was her way of offering a shoulder without actually expressing the words. "Us kunoichi have to stick together," the Godaime added wisely, "Our lives are never easy. Love complicates it tenfold."

Sakura said nothing, only nodded. She downed the sake in one gulp.

They stood there in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, each lost in their own thoughts and memories of a time when perchance things may have worked out. Amused, she realized that she had never seen her teacher in such a good, calm mood before. How much sake had she had? And how much sleep? She smiled inwardly at the idea for a time.

Sakura was the first to break the silence as she mulled the Hokage's words over in her head again. "Tsunade-sama?" she inquired softly, "Who was the man you fell in love with?"

Her mentor fixed her with hazel eyes, then sighed and replied with a gentle smile. "Dan. He was my...everything. We were lucky enough to even be with one another. But the life of a shinobi is never fixed in stone. He was killed, and I left Leaf for a time to heal," she said simply.

"That must have been hard..."

"It was. But I have never regretted it. The time we had together was more than enough." Tsunade glanced down at her. "I know your feelings are true for Hatake. I will not fill you with false hope, but to love is a powerful thing. If he weren't so blind, he would see that he has a team that cares for him and will protect him to the death, if only he would let them. Someday, he will realize this."

"I just don't know why he hasn't realized it yet," she complained sadly, "We're a team. Of course we care for him. He was like our... brother, friend... after he was our sensei." She sighed, then blurted out, "I want him to think of me as a woman, as a friend. As _something_ other than just another shinobi."

"Give him time," Tsunade replied, "He has led a hard life, more so than the rest of us. He will learn to open up again."

She nodded.

Tsunade refilled her sake glass.

Sakura stared at the golden contents mulishly for a moment, then downed the second glass as quickly as she had the first. "Thank you."

"Go home and get some sleep," the Hokage said, "Tomorrow, bring your team and meet me at my office. I have a mission for you."

"Hai, shishou."

-

Ten minutes later, she was on her way home. She took the long route back to her apartment to enjoy the night life. The bars had opened hours before, the music and crowds inside making her smile as she remembered a particular 'girl's night out' that ended with Ino sleeping next to the toilet and Sakura somehow ending up on the outside porch of Tenten's house.

Familiar laughter stopped her dead in her tracks.

Sakura whipped her head around to its source and saw Kiba sitting at Ichiraku, Hinata and Shino at his side, Akamaru's massive head against his thigh. Kiba laughed again at something Shino muttered, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes as he held his stomach. Hinata too was smiling, her fingers intertwined with Kiba's free hand. To any passerby, they were a happy group of friends and comrades.

Her chest began to constrict and burn as she fought against sudden tears - why the hell was she crying? She didn't even love Kiba anymore! So what was the fucking problem? She brushed the offensive tears away furiously. She was over him, really. They got along well as friends and even though the breakup had been - abrupt - they had mutually decided it was best to continue only as friendly acquaintances. Then why was she suddenly so upset? Her life was full and happy... enough. Was it because she had feelings that were never returned no matter who she fell for? Was it because Kiba had been the man to finally return her feelings, if only for a time? Was it because he had been the closest thing to a lover that she had ever had?

Or was it jealousy for their closeness that made her upset? Team 7 would never again be whole; their fourth member was probably lost forever.

Sakura frowned and forced her legs to move again. She shouldn't be moping over this right now. She just had to concentrate on all the positive things in her life that outweighed the bad. But even as she fought to list the pros, Kakashi's face crept unbidden into her mind. "Not this," she moaned, "Not now."

She barely made it home before the tears that had been building up in her eyes flowed in rivers down her face. She couldn't remember a time she had felt so alone and lost in the world. And just when she had thought that the path she had chosen - the life of a confident, solo kunoichi - was going to work, everything was destroyed. No, she just had to realize her attraction to Kakashi to completely erase all of her future plans and goals in the span of a mere couple of weeks!

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she whispered into the darkness.

_Hatake, you're going down._

-

_Rough Translations_

**Hai= **yes

**Arigato= **thanks

**Shishou= **teacher

**Gaki=** kid

-

**I'm back! After a rather long hiatus, my apologies. I've been getting ready for college, sending applications in, attempting to handle my now-massive amount of homework... blah blah blah. I'm still in the process of creating a story-line for the sequel to ****The Mission From Hell****, but until then I needed to get this rather demanding plot bunny satisfied with a daily dose of KakaSaku.**

**This piece will be multi-chaptered, though will not be as long as ****TMFH.**** Please bear with me; some updates with be irregular due to prior engagements and HOMEWORK. I do plan to update biweekly though. **

**It's nice to be back. :D**

**-Jackie 3**


	2. Chapter 2

**"****Firefight****" by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.**

**-**

Don't waste time getting to the point, cause I, I'm patiently waiting

For your next phone call, your next excuse for losing sleep again

Tell me what you think about being open,

about being honest with yourself

**Cartel, **"Honestly."

-

**CHAPTER TWO**

-

When Sakura awoke the next morning, she felt much much better. She had no idea what had destroyed the floodgates the night before, but allowing herself to wallow in her misery in turn made her feel better about losing control. She chuckled. "The irony of it." She rolled out of bed and took a look at herself in her bureau mirror, twisting her body this way and that as she inspected herself.

Her skin was lightly tanned and smooth, though her sleeveless shirt left slight tan lines across her chest. She flexed experimentally, then grinned as she saw the muscles in her arms grow taut. She lifted up her pale pink tank top to inspect her stomach; her muscles were definitely defined but not overly so to the point that they seemed masculine. All in all, she knew she had an attractive body.

Stepping closer, Sakura inspected her face. Her eyelashes were long and dark against her rosy cheeks. Her pink hair, though, needed some serious attention. It currently stuck up wherever it pleased and looked awful. With a laugh at her comical appearance, she quickly dug through her drawers and pulled out a comb to tame the many knots. Once her hair was halfway decent, she threw on a clean red shirt over her breast bindings and then buckled her medics skirt around the tight spandex shorts. She belted on her pouch and shuriken holster, then walked into the other room, grabbed an apple to munch on, slipped on her boots and left her apartment.

"Time to go get Naruto," Sakura muttered dryly, knowing that he would still be asleep. Naruto really only woke up for training, and that was if he had remembered to set his alarm clock in the morning. To give him credit, he didn't know they had a mission briefing to go to today, and no training session was going to wake him up at six in the morning. Besides, Neji and Shikamaru had helped her clean Naruto's kitchen out of anything spoiled, moldy or rotting the week before, so there wouldn't be any other surprises for her to clean up while she waited for him to get ready. Hopefully.

She just hoped she didn't have to go get Sai. _That_ would be a little odd. Although the artist had been on their team for countless years now, he still hadn't learned all of the...appropriate things to say and do in public. And he was absolutely clueless about relationships between men and women. It was a little shocking to see him walking around reading an Icha Icha that he must have acquired from Kakashi for information. His little snarky comments - no doubt memorized from the book - pissed her off and flattered her at the same time. She would never admit the 'flattery' part though.

Sakura reached Naruto's apartment a couple minutes later. He lived in one of the top floors in the huge complex situated near the lake. She was surprised he could even afford it; the rent each month was astounding. She knew he didn't make that much money with missions, so how her teammate could afford it was a complete mystery. With a slightly envious sigh, Sakura opened the panel and buzzed number 12-17.

_"Ehhh... hello?"_

"It's me, Naruto, let me up."

_"S-S-S-Sakura-chaaan? What're you.... aaahhh... doing here?"_

"Let me up, Naruto. I'll make you breakfast. We have a briefing soon."

All of his apparent sleepiness vanished when she mentioned the mission. _"Dattebayo! Great, I can't wait to get out of here-"_

"Just let me up."

_"Okay, okay. I'll be in the shower. Come on in, I'll unlock the door."_

The intercom closed with a click as the front door unlocked. Sakura opened it and walked inside, still marveling at how nice the marble entrance lobby was. She hit the elevator button for the twelfth floor, then clasped her hands in front of her as the steel box lurched with a _screech_ and then moved upward at a rather alarming speed. Sakura gritted her teeth and ignored the rolling of her stomach; she really hated elevators. If she didn't want to wake the neighbors, she would have concentrated chakra on the bottom of her boots and just _climbed_ up the apartment. A couple neighbors of Naruto's had filed complaints about it though, so maybe it wasn't the smartest idea.

The elevator halted abruptly, leaving Sakura grasping onto the rails to steady herself. "Stupid elevator," she muttered as she hastily stepped out of it onto the floor. It seemed to hiss at her as the doors slammed shut and it hurdled back to the ground floor. She shot her best glare after it, then smartly spun on her heel and marched down the hallway. Reaching room seventeen, she turned the handle and let herself in, hoping that Naruto had something edible to cook with._"So then I say can't find a lover,"_ she heard Naruto belt at the top of his lungs, his loud voice echoing off of the stone walls of his bathroom, _"Well there's no other way of pulling me under, cause it's gotta be fate if we're under the covers, it's all gonna be A-OOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKK, AAAAAA-OOOOKKKKKK-"_

"You can't carry a tune to save your life!" Sakura shouted at him, rifling through all of his kitchen cabinets for bread. She grimaced when she pulled it out; the back of the loaf was molding, the bread already a disgusting greenish white pasty color. "Dammit, Naruto! We _just_ cleaned out all of your expired food!" At least some of the bread could be saved. Sakura took out four slices and threw them in her teammate's toaster, then opened the refrigerator to look around for butter. She finally found some in the far back behind the cheese and wilting vegetables. Dropping to her hands and knees, she basically had to climb inside the refrigerator to grab the butter. "Ugh," she moaned, "This sucks."

The shower turned off and she heard Naruto climb out of the shower, still humming that god-awful melody to himself. The cabinet slammed shut, then the water ran as she heard him brush his teeth. The previous humming had turned into a garble that made her chuckle as the young adult tried to sing around his toothbrush. Two minutes later, just after the toast had popped up from the toaster, Naruto entered his kitchen, clad only in blue boxers.

She couldn't help but enjoy the sight of his bare, muscled chest and strong arms. Hey, he may be her best friend and she really didn't think of him romantically, but Kami did he have a nice physique, especially for a shinobi. While ninja like Shikamaru were thin and wiry by nature, Naruto was just _strong_ and _big._ His immense frame not only grew vertically, but horizontally as well as his strength increased. Soon after Naruto's eighteenth birthday, she had seen all women, kunoichi and civilian alike, sending sly glances at her teammate. Even _Ino_ had given him the 'up-down' look, as if appraising him. She had barely restrained herself from smacking the drooling kunoichi on the face to wake her up.

The hyperactive ninja was as oblivious as ever though.

Five years later, at the ripe age of twenty-three, Naruto had become a man. He still had that humorous attitude, though, and that confident grin and demeanor that influenced those around him to do their best as well. Tsunade had even said (after three shots of sake and the threat of an afternoon alone with the Council) that he would be the next Hokage if he continued on the path that he had taken. First chuunin, then jounin. It would only be a matter of time before he made ANBU.

"What're you thinking?" Naruto interrupted her curiously, "You've got that dreamy expression on your face."

She flushed lightly. "Nothing, gaki."

Naruto rolled his eyes and glanced at his plate of buttered toast and looked slightly disappointed by its contents. "Ne, Sakura-chan," he whined, "I thought you said you were making breakfast!"

Sakura frowned. "Toast _is_ breakfast," she said simply.

"Breakfast means omelets and eggs and bacon and sausage!" the blond said with a dramatic sigh as she clenched her fists, "I thought it was gonna be a _real_ breakfast!"

"Eat your toast!" Sakura growled angrily

"Okay, okay," Naruto replied with a grin, running a hand through his wet, dripping hair, "Did Baa-chan tell you what kind of a mission she was sending us on?"

The pink-haired kunoichi hoisted herself up onto the counter next to Naruto and took her toast with her. "No," she replied, "She didn't say."

"I hope it's a good one. I hope it's an S-class. I've been itching for action for _weeks_ now! I want to get out there and kick ass and save the damsel in distress or rescue a village-"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she munched on her toast. "If they don't kick your ass first."

"That was low, Sakura-chan."

She just giggled at the hurt look he was sending her. She took his plate, then shoved him off of the counter. "You know I'm only joking, you big goof ball. Now go put some clothes on so we can go!"

-

Sai was waiting for them outside of the Hokage's building, arms crossed and looking bored as always, though he smiled when he saw them. "Hello, Naruto, Sakura. I believe we have a mission." He closed his ever-present sketchbook and shouldered his bag.

"Yeah yeah," Naruto said, rolling his eyes, "C'mon Sai, it's not a good idea to keep Baa-chan waiting."

"It's not a good idea to call her Baa-chan," Sakura muttered to Sai, whose smile grew.

She and the pale-faced artist trailed after Naruto as the still-hyperactive ninja all but ran down the hallway, pushing past an unsuspecting Shizune and a disgruntled Ton-Ton with a simple "Gomen!", leaving a flurry of paperwork in his path.

Shizune, resigning herself to picking up the papers, gave a weary wave to Sakura and Sai. "How are you, Sakura-chan?" she asked, her dark eyes friendly and warm. It wasn't hard to see why Genma, the infamous loner, had finally settled down with his sweet teammate.

Sakura stopped to help, quickly gathering the bulk of them that were threatening to flow away in the gentle summer breeze flowing in from the open windows. Sai stared at her questioningly; "It's okay, Sai," Sakura told him, "I will be right there."

With a polite hello to Shizune in return, the artist followed Naruto up the stairs.

Shizune accepted the papers with another smile. "Thanks, Sakura," she said cheerfully, though she looked a bit tired.

"Is something wrong?" Sakura asked gently, touching the older woman's wrist with her hand, "I don't mean to pry..."

The brunette picked up Ton-Ton and held him close. "It's nothing, really. Genma has another mission tonight, so it looks like I'm on my own."

"Ah," she said sympathetically, "He was gone for a month, I almost forgot about that. Well, don't worry. It's just a border patrol, he should be back before morning."

Shizune smiled and walked off down the hall. "I know. I'd go see Tsunade-sama if I were you though, Sakura-chan. She's ready to punch a hole through the wall."

The pink-haired kunoichi laughed. "What was it this time?"

"The council," her friend called back.

"Great," she muttered to herself and glanced at the stairs. The Godaime was a fair woman in her deals and actions, but sometimes her temper was very violent. She was like a bomb ready to explode at the smallest thing. Sakura inwardly winced; Sai and Naruto together had just increased the odds of Tsunade losing her temper by almost ninety percent, to her reckoning. It was inevitable.

She climbed the stairs quickly, hoping to make it before Naruto said something so tactless that they would all get kicked out of her office. She was relieved that when she reached the door, it was quiet. She knocked once, then pushed the door open. Naruto was standing in front of the desk rather impatiently, but at least he wasn't prodding Tsunade-sama to hurry up or get to the point. Sai was sitting down in one of the chairs, his fingers laced together as he calmly waited.

The older woman looked up at her and nodded her head in greeting. "Now that you are all here," she began wearily, regarding the scroll in front of her as she spoke, "Here is your mission. We have had reports of an increased activity of shinobi from all different villages close to our borders. Now, there has been no suspicion of attack at this moment; the activity is not a very conspicuous increase, but it has increased enough to cause us to worry about the safety of our perimeter. Team 7, you will be assigned a shift of border duty, from this afternoon to tomorrow morning."

"Wait," Sakura said, confused, "Wasn't an ANBU squad going to be in charge of the border patrol?"

Tsunade gazed down at her with wise and, if Sakura interpreted that look correctly, dancing eyes, as if she knew a secret joke. "Yes," she answered simply, "But it is best to have more than one team doing patrols around Konoha. If there is any danger to our village, reinforcements are right there. Besides-" Her gaze turned to Naruto then. "-your teammate here wanted to get out of the village and go on an _important_ mission. This is the only one we had left."

Naruto growled under his breath, "Important my ass-"

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed angrily, "Shut up!"

Sai smiled. "Dickless."

The blond immediately swung his fist around to punch the dark-haired artist. Sai ducked underneath Naruto's wild punch and skid out of the way, kunai already armed and ready in his long-fingered hands. Tsunade merely watched them, a vein throbbing furiously in her temple as the two began to squabble. She growled, dug into her cabinets, poured herself a shot of sake, then downed it in one gulp. "Get out of my office!" she finally shouted as Naruto began to threaten the artist with various dismemberment, slamming the empty sake glass on her desk for emphasis, "Beat each other on the training grounds, but be ready to go in three hours!"

With that, they were kicked out of the room. The door slammed shut with a resounding _smash._

"Nice job, guys," Sakura muttered.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto asked as if nothing happened, "Want to go get ramen while we wait?"

Sai frowned. "Why would she want to go get ramen with you? You have no dick."

Naruto stopped. "Wait, is Kaka-sensei going with us?"

"No," she responded.

"Yamato-taichou?"

"No, just us."

"Oh... well, I guess that's okay. We're more than a match for whatever comes our way, dattebayo!"

"All shinobi that look at you would run away anyway," Sai remarked nonchalantly, shouldering his pack, "That shade of orange is unappealing and hurts to look at."

"Yeah, well, your shirt makes you look like a pus-"

"Naruto!" Sakura interjected, shocked that he would even utter such a word. He must have found her clenched fist mildly frightening, for he laughed sheepishly and mumbled a quick apology.

They walked down the rest of the stairs and the length to the door in silence.

-

Four hours later they were deep within Fire Country.

They raced through the woods, breath rushing out of their mouths in hasty puffs. For a few minutes, they sprinted tirelessly, the wind whipping through their hair, the leaves and branches of the trees snapping and crumbling against their powerful bodies. It was joy to run, for a shinobi, to _feel_ the strength and energy flowing moving their bodies. With chakra firmly concentrated on all limbs, they could lose themselves and shut down their thoughts until all that mattered were mere senses and feelings. The forest would come alive; birds would cry and call out to one another happily, flitting from tree to tree as the small animals enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the abundant food. All that Sakura could feel were their life-forces, her own, and the steady pounding of her heart and her movements propelling herself through the air.

It was nice, to be able to disconnect like this. She had done too much thinking in the previous weeks that was really redundant and useless to both her knowledge and her well-being. And in this untroubled state, she didn't yearn for a certain shinobi nearly as much.

Unbidden, a memory sprang to her thought.

_A masculine scent suddenly assailed her senses. Sakura breathed it in, savoring the smell and committing its pleasurable aroma in her memory even as she stared up into Kakashi's mismatched eyes. He hesitantly wove his fingers through her hair, his touch very light. His thumb ghosted over her cheek just as lightly. There were barriers, she saw, in his eyes. Keeping him in. And keeping her out. But even as she stared up at him those barriers shifted and faltered until it was just him looking down at her. There was no veil in between their emotions._

_His lips were inches from hers._

Everything suddenly made sense again. She wanted Kakashi not only because she was physically attracted to him, but because she was intellectually as well. His dry humor and wit never failed to make her laugh. His words of protection and camaraderie for his team when they were younger still stuck with her. She respected his skill as a shinobi and also his actions as such. Kakashi was not one to make hasty decisions. Nor was he one to be forced to do something if he really didn't want to. His unwavering loyalty to Konoha and its occupants made her glow with a strange pleasure that she had previously thought had to do only with that respect she had for him. Now that she realized that she wanted to be his companion did she realize she may have loved him all along.

Just then, a tiny flicker of something that did not belong in the forest drew her attention. Sai must have felt it as well, for he swiftly stopped at the next tree branch and hid himself within the leafy canopy. Naruto flipped around and hid as well; she could only make out a faint trace of orange that revealed his location. Following her teammates' example, Sakura wove her lithe body against the trunk of a tall pine and inspected the surrounding area.

"Feel that?" Naruto whispered to Sai.

"It's not one of us," the artist whispered back, his dark eyes scanning the ground, "Hostile, whoever it is. Their chakra is concealed, for the most part. If it were one of us, it would not be so contained."

Sakura sighed heavily. As a border patrol unit, it was their duty to investigate the matter before letting whoever it was pass any closer to the hidden Leaf village than was necessary. "Looks like you get your fight," she muttered to Naruto, who chuckled.

"Then what're we waiting for?" the blond shinobi grinned, rolling up his sleeves and reaching for his kunai, "Let's find out who has come calling."

Noiselessly and simultaneously they sprinted forward; Sai went on ahead of the unknown shinobi to try and head him off as Naruto and Sakura broke off to cover any possible escapes in case the nin sensed their chakra. When they were in place ahead of and behind the shinobi, Sai let his chakra pulse in a flare of pure energy that was the signal to attack. "Naruto, wait here," Sakura told her friend, "If it goes badly, we'll need the surprise element you can give us."

Naruto's grin was wolfish.

Sakura burst out from the underbrush, releasing her chakra and allowing it to flow through her body. Ahead, she felt the shinobi release his as well as he sensed her deadly intent. She skirted around him, leaving a safe hundred feet in between them. From that distance, she couldn't make out much about him; the nin was wearing a simple, dirty brown traveling cape, its hood over his face. He stood still as she and Sai carefully approached them, his head bowed. Sakura glanced at Sai; he nodded at her. "State your business," she called out in a clear, even voice.

The hooded shinobi did not move.

Sakura frowned; what was going on?

Five flares of chakra suddenly flickered into existence from all around, positioned in a loose perimeter around them. _Trap!_ she thought. While her team had surrounded the shinobi, it looked like the team of the enemy surrounded _them_ in turn. Quicker than a flash of light, Sakura pulled out her senbon and shot them at the hooded shinobi. Sai too initiated his attack, ripping his scroll open to scribble animals onto its parchment. "_Ralonzukurabu no Jutsu_!" the artist cried as five lions sprang from the scroll, snarling angrily at the senbon missed by a wide margin as the shinobi suddenly sprang into being. He threw himself out of the way and sprinted over to Sai, who was forced to drop his scroll and brush to block the oncoming blows with the blade of his katana.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried as the five chakra signatures drew closer and closer. Her friend was by her side in a flash of yellow, black and orange, his mouth set into a firm line.

"Well, didn't see that coming," he muttered dryly to her as the five cloaked nin came to the rescue of their comrade. Although they did not wear their hoods like the decoy, their faces were covered by white, wooden masks with various details painted on them by their owner. "Shit!" Naruto exclaimed, "Hunter-nins!"

An explosion drew her eye; two of Sai's lions had exploded ten feet to their left. The hooded shinobi, however, was still standing, though he untied his smoldering brown cape and threw it to the side, revealing an old lined white face and dark brown eyes that glinted with deadly purpose. Why his face was uncovered unlike his team, Sakura didn't know, and didn't really have time to speculate on that matter because the shinobi had abandoned Sai as two of his teammates had taken his place and now was charging _her._

"I've got your back!" Naruto shouted to her as he engaged the three remaining Hunter-nins in combat with a plethora of Bunshin clones. Sakura nodded, her bright green eyes fixed cautiously on the pale shinobi sprinting right at her. She was a little disconcerted by his cool demeanor and the emotionless dark eyes that bored into her mercilessly. No shinobi would charge head-on like this unless they were certain it would work, or if it was a trap. Not wanting to stay to find out, Sakura threw herself to the side and leapt into the nearest tree, using the bought time to rearm herself with kunai.

_I have no idea what his skill is like,_ she thought bitterly as she threw herself out of the tree at the approaching Hunter-nin. He didn't change direction, like she thought he would. Instead, he anticipated her movements and was right in front of her before Sakura had time to blink. Unthinkingly, she thrust her kunai at his face. The tug of the blade through flesh and the spray of hot red blood told her she had found her mark. But why would he throw himself at her like that with no defense to protect himself?

A searing pain in her side as Sakura suddenly found herself flying through the air told her why. "Uuurgh," she groaned as she fell to the ground hard. Perplexed, she stared up at her opponent. Her medical abilities told her that his right eye was now a useless and bloody mess. White bone visible through the gash told her that she had cut to, and possibly through, his skull. How he was still standing was a mystery. His remaining eye was still fixated on her, no emotion, pain or sick enjoyment visible.

_What the hell is going on?_ Sakura thought desperately as she jumped to her feet and spaced herself even farther away from the Hunter-nin.

The look he sent her way made her tremble like a genin. She fought to get ahold of her strong terror and instinct to run for safety when he suddenly opened his mouth and spoke in a harsh, raspy voice. "Little girl," he chided, "I feel no pain. Your attacks are futile."

Enough of herself remained that Sakura was able to hide her fear and scoff at his words. "You are not invincible," she all but taunted, "No one can withstand that amount of damage." Even so, she still concentrated chakra into her fists. She could not afford give this impressive Hunter-nin anything but her most devastating attacks.

He chuckled. "I am in the bingo books, child. You obviously have not paid enough attention to them. I'll tell you this now; my name is Daeco. I was part of an... experiment in Stone. I am a genetically altered shinobi designed to feel no pain and to fight with all of my strength until I die." Blood was now running freely down his face from the wound she inflicted, contrasting darkly with his light skin.

Sakura fought the urge to retch. The blank look on his face did not match his darkly amused tone in which he addressed her. He was playing with her, like a fox will play with a mouse before it eats it. Like a snake as it stares at a terrified meal. And like a killer as he stares into the eyes of a horrified victim. "You just told me what I needed to know to kill you," she said bravely, "That was not a smart move."

The pale old man merely watched her.

_I know what to do,_ she thought. _He may not feel pain, but his body will not respond if he loses too much blood or is crippled in some way... GOT IT! _Her chakra tunneled into the ground underneath her feet at her command, soaking through every rock and grain of dirt until a large chuck of the earth was completely under her control. All she had to do was immobilize Daeco and trap him so he could die without killing her in the process.

"Tut, tut," Daeco snarled, "You won't have the time to attack, little girl. This is _over!"_ He flew at her with a speed that was unnerving. Sakura, however, stood her ground, a wry smile stretching her lips. Daeco had the chance to only shriek his fury before the ground, with a huge earth-shaking rumble, all but swallowed him whole as boulders squeezed his body, crushing him to death.

No longer able to contain herself as the Hunter-nin slowly died and her chakra reserves drained at an alarming rate, she fell to her knees and vomited the little she had eaten that day. Her little stunt had cost her more than three quarters of her chakra. Hopefully she would not need to draw on the rest of it.

Strong arms pulled her upright and held her up. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted, "C'mon, get up! We're not finished." He supported her until Sakura was able to regain her composure and glance around the clearing. Along with Daeco, who was undoubtedly the leader of the Hunter-nins, only two remained standing. The bone remains of two shinobi lay in a jumbled pile, singed and completely burnt from Sai's explosive lions. One other lay face down, a kunai impaled directly into his heart.

The remaining Hunter-nin were focused on Sai. The artist nimbly moved around their fatigued attacks, every swipe of his katana adding more and more blood to the earth. One of the nins suddenly broke off and charged at Naruto; just as quickly, the blond shinobi threw Sakura to the side out of the way. Naruto and the masked shinobi traded blows, then leapt apart.

A pained groan made Sakura look up, horrified. Sai fell to the ground, his hand a mess of broken bones and blood. She was on her feet in half a second and was at Sai's side in two. The Hunter-nin was just about to deliver a killing blow when Sakura blocked his katana with her kunai and managed to wrench it away so that it imbedded itself in a tree trunk. Now weaponless, the enemy backed away defensively. He wasn't fast enough; Sakura's mercy was at its end. The shinobi lay dead at her feet in one swift swipe of her kunai.

"Sai, are you alright?" Sakura asked, offering her teammate a hand up. He grasped hers with his good hand, cradling his injured one against his chest as she pulled him to his feet. "Let me see that."

Naruto's cursing caused her to look up. Her friend was kneeling about fifty feet from his opponent, curled around his probably-broken ribcage. As if time slowed down, she saw the shinobi draw out of his pocket four kunai and aim them at the injured man in front of him. Just as slowly, the nin pulled his arm back and prepared to throw the life-taking metal at him.

Sakura took off, although her body screamed its exhaustion in every step. The kunai had just left the shinobi's fingertips when she finally, _finally_, reached her friend and brother. She threw her body in front of Naruto's to shield him. Although it was as if time had slowed, her body refused to keep up, and she knew she had no chance of blocking the kunai. Instead she stared straight into the masked face of the Hunter-nin, afraid only for Naruto.

"To protect a friend," she whispered, her emerald eyes closing as the kunai flew closer and closer to her.

Time ticked by slowly.

_One..._

_Two..._

_Three..._

_Four..._

But when Sakura got to ten, she knew something was not right. She should have felt the cold metal pierce into her flesh by now. The warm blood should be flowing down her chilled flesh, seeping into her clothing. She should feel the flash of agony that would cripple her senses and leave her breathless and broken on the ground. But all she felt was the warm summer breeze blowing against her skin and the gentle hum of her chakra as it flowed throughout her body.

When she was certain that the knives had not sunken into her flesh, she opened her eyes.

"Nani...?"

In front of her was a shinobi. Not Sai or Naruto; Naruto was still behind her, his hand feverishly clenched on her arm, and Sai crouching at the corner of the clearing. The nameless shinobi's flak vest was worn in places and covered in dirt. A long scratch ran through the orange swirl placed in the middle. Sakura stared at the familiar vest, wondering where exactly she had seen it before. But her mind had slowed and refused to keep up with her.

All she had to do was look up and all of her doubts and questions suddenly were answered.

_Kakashi_...

Just as quickly as time had slowed, now it accelerated until all Sakura saw through her weary haze was an ANBU team, one of theirs, take up positions around her exhausted and injured team. The two remaining enemy Hunter-nins were cold and dead on the ground in under a minute, efficiently picked down by the ANBU.

When all the enemy nin lay dead at their feet, Kakashi moved away from Sakura. "Search the woods," he growled at his team. Two ANBU nodded and did as the Copy-nin demanded, soon disappearing into the leaf canopy of the forest as Kakashi knelt down next to one of the bodies to inspect it.

The remaining ANBU unclipped his mask and turned to them, revealing squinty, intelligent eyes and a rather roughish grin. Shiranui Genma surveyed them quickly, obviously checking for any life-threatening wounds. When he was content with their health, he chuckled. "Nice job here. We've been tracking them all afternoon, trying to bring them down. Looks like you got to them first."

Naruto, ignoring Genma, wrapped his arms around her. "Thank Kami," he said thickly, "Sakura, you shouldn't have done that..."

Sai joined them, looking on gravely. She sent him a weak smile, then took his hand in hers and set the broken bones in his wrist with a quick jerk. He hissed in pain, but to his credit stayed completely still as she healed the surrounding tissue and muscle with the last of her chakra. When she was satisfied that it wouldn't pain him much as the bones continued to heal, she released his hand. "Arigato," the artist thanked.

Kakashi got to his feet with a sigh. "Stone," he muttered to Genma, who scowled and cursed under his breath. Sakura found that she could not take her eyes off of the silver-haired man as he strode forward towards them with a purposeful air. Sakura's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly - _angrily_ - grasped her shoulders and gave her a rough shake. "What were you thinking?" he demanded, his lone gray eye sharp and glinting in the afternoon sun, "You could have been killed."

It took her a moment to catch up with what was happening. "What?" Sakura spluttered, bewildered by his sudden and overwhelming fury as it rolled through her in dangerous and powerful waves. "What are you-"

He growled under his breath and released her shoulders. "Standing in front of those kunai was a stupid mistake that could have cost you your life."

Naruto stepped forward, obviously intent on protesting against Kakashi's almost-cruel words. "Kaka-sensei, don't yell at Sakura. It was my fault, she was trying to protect me-"

"It was _not_ my fault," Sakura retorted icily to Kakashi, absently interrupting her teammate in the process as she fixed her emerald eyes on his to glare up at the tall shinobi standing so tensely in front of her, "You used to say that one who didn't protect their friends was worse than trash, _sensei._ I had no choice but to protect my friend and teammate. I care about him more than my own life."

"Naruto is more than capable of looking after himself." Kakashi's dark and dangerous tone left no room for argument. "You, however, are not fit to be relied upon if you cannot even take care of yourself, much less your other teammates. If I had not stopped the kunai, you would be dead, and a burden to your team."

The silence that stretched between them was stifling. Naruto was glaring up at his ex-sensei almost as angrily as Sakura was. She couldn't believe he had said what he did. She wasn't a little genin anymore, she was a twenty-three year old jounin and medic-nin and a fantastic kunoichi to boot. Did that mean nothing to him? Had he not seen her many accomplishments that she had earned for her name over the years?

She forgot her current exhaustion as the delayed adrenaline ran through her veins at his harsh words. She bristled with anger, knowing it would be stupid to attack him at the same time as she itched to pound his face into the ground. But she would only humiliate herself even further; for every step forward she took in her skill and prowess, Kakashi took a step forward as well. He would _always_ be just a bit faster than her, always be just a little bit stronger. So instead of kicking his ass all over Fire Country, Sakura spun on her heel and walked off to collect herself privately. Six pairs of eyes followed her.

Five minutes later she had a tight grip on her emotions. Letting out a huge sigh that helped in erasing her anger and frustration at Kakashi's words - not to mention her wounded pride - Sakura returned to the group. The sun was low over the horizon, bathing the forest in a strange, orangey glow as it set over the distant mountains. Genma and the other ANBU had set up traps all along their perimeter; on the ground were three bedrolls, obviously meant for them. Sai was already situated in one, cradling his still-tender wrist in his lap. He looked up when he heard her arrive and sent her a smile. Although it was fake and a little unsettling, she smiled back; it was the thought that counted.

With a sigh of relief, she realized that Kakashi had disappeared; only Sai, Genma and the masked ANBU remained in the clearing. Naruto, Kakashi and the other ANBU were nowhere to be seen.

Sakura kept her eyes on the ground as she walked over to Sai, feeling very much like a little puppy dog who had been rebuked by its owner, so she was startled when a familiar voice called her name.

"Hey, Sakura," a woman called lazily. The pink-haired kunoichi looked up into a fierce, tattooed face. The ANBU had removed her mask to reveal two red fangs decorating her cheeks, slightly pointed teeth shown in a big grin, and narrowed, slitted eyes. Inuzuka Hana. Kiba's older sister, though not as wild and feral as her younger brother. Sakura about died right there; in Hana's face was Kiba. Their grins were identical except for the length of their teeth, and the way she drawled her name made her want to cry.

"Hullo," Sakura responded meekly, thinking that her luck could not get any worse. _Great,_ she thought to herself darkly, _I fight with Kakashi, and Hana turns out to be part of the ANBU team. Just great. _

"Nice job back there," Hana congratulated her, leaning her weight against a small sapling, the epitome of relaxation, "That was some fancy-footwork with that freak. Good thing I didn't have to see him; the ground can have him for all I care."

"Thank you." She glanced around, then asked softly, "Where are your dogs, if you don't mind me asking?"

Hana shrugged. "ANBU regulation," she complained to Genma, who nodded in agreement, "It's best if we remain... as anonymous as possible."

"Then why is Kakashi-san not wearing a uniform?" Sai asked curiously, "He has made no visible effort to change his appearance."

Genma snorted. "Most lower nins run if they see the infamous Copy Ninja. It lowers morale for our enemies, which can make it easier for us to pick them off."

Sai nodded. "Ah," he responded simply.

The bushes rustled as something moved through them; immediately Genma and Hana sprang across the clearing, katana drawn and ready to attack whatever came through. But it was only her teammate. Naruto walked over gingerly, ignoring the two startled ANBU opposite him and completely wet. At Sakura and Sai's questioning looks, he smiled. "Took a bath. I stunk."

"Here," Sakura said, patting the bedroll next to her, "Let me take a look at those ribs of yours."

Her teammate sat down next to her with a wince, once large hand holding his right side. "I don't think they're broken," he hissed through clenched teeth, "Just bruised. Nothing snapped that I could hear, anyway."

Sakura shook her head and touched his side gently. A small drop of chakra had regenerated in her reserves, but it wasn't enough to really make a difference. She looked at her kunai pouch for a minute, deliberating whether or not she would regret taking a soldier pill the next day. It was Naruto's obvious discomfort that made up her mind. She released Naruto, opened her pouch and then shook a pill out of the container. Ignoring Naruto's protests - "It doesn't hurt me that badly, Sakura-chan, really!" - she split the pill into pieces, then took about half of what lay in her palm. The rest she put back in the container.

Five seconds later the kunoichi felt like she had rested for an entire night. Though her reserves had increased, she still only had about half of her usual supply of chakra at her command, but it was more than enough for the task before her. She grinned at her friend. "I feel great!" Then she replaced her hands on his chest and allowed her chakra to seep through his skin. Naruto was right; they were only bruised. The tissue and muscle around them was injured and strained, which would explain why it was so sore and tender. She eased the inflammation and even created a temporary, durable casing of chakra around each individual rib on his side to prevent further injury on their mission. Her chakra ran out just as she finished the final rib.

Exhausted again overtook her, and she swayed where she sat.

"Sleep," Hana told her gently, "We'll look after you. And don't worry about Kakashi-san; he'll come around."

Sakura had energy enough to nod and kick off her boots before slipping underneath her blanket. Someone - Naruto, she assumed - smoothed out the blankets and tucked her in. "G'night," she sighed.

"Night, Sakura-chan."

That night, she dreamed of drowning and of masked ninja, wounds that would not heal and a silver-haired shinobi who called her name over and over again through the rush of water and surf that swallowed her whole.

_-_

**To be continued....**

_Rough Translations_

**Gomen= **informal apology

**Arigato**= thanks

**Nani=** what?

**-**

**Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! They fuel my passion just like good music does. **

**-Jackie**


	3. Chapter 3

**"****Firefight****" by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.**

**Rated for language, battle sequences, and adult themes.**

-

We were boxing

We were boxing the stars

We were boxing (we were boxing)

You were swinging for Mars

And then the water reached the West Coast

And took the power lines (the power lines)

And it was me and you (this could last forever)

And the whole town under water

There was nothing we could do

It was dark blue

**-Jack's Mannequin, **"Dark Blue."

-

**CHAPTER THREE**

-

"Good morning sunshine!"

"Urghhh," Sakura groaned as she suddenly woke from her sleep. The sun hit her face in an agonizing burst; eyes watering, she rolled out of bed and was surprised when she hit solid ground instead of wooden floorboards. Cracking her eyes, she realized she was not in her bed like she had thought. She was still camping in Fire Country. That would explain the stiffness of her body and why the sun was so bright.

A chuckle drew her attention. "Heh, klutz," Genma said cheerfully, cooking something over a small fire a couple of feet behind her. She wanted to hit him; really, who was that cheerful in the morning?

"Shove it up your ass," she responded, sitting back on her heels as her disoriented mind righted itself. Now the kunoichi was regretting taking that soldier pill. Her body was slow and sluggish and failed to respond to any demand she made of it. She only hoped that within a few hours she would be home, safe and sound in her bed. On either side of her, Naruto and Sai were just beginning to wake up. Sai was rubbing his eyes tiredly, but Naruto had all but ignored Genma and had hidden underneath the blanket. Only the top of his blond head was showing.

A disinterested glance around the camp let her know that the other ANBU were gone. Scouting, probably, and she surmised that Genma had drawn the short straw and had to make breakfast.

As she stalked off to the river that Naruto had all but drowned himself in the night before, odd flashes of memory probed in her mind. "I don't remember dreaming," she mumbled as snippets of rushing water and Kakashi's face came to mind. She chose that moment to forget what she was doing and ended up tumbling head over feet to the ground. Sakura hissed in pain and embarrassment but was thankful at least that no one was here to witness her fall from grace. She brushed her messy pink locks from her face and got to her feet again, now even more bruised and covered in dirt.

Today was not looking good.

The river came into sight not two minutes later. It was small - something she could easily jump across with the help of chakra - but the water was deep and ran its path quickly through the land. She spotted some calm shallows and headed there, not wanting to get caught up in the strong current. With a deflated sigh, she unzipped her red top and hung it from a protruding tree branch. Off went the skirt, the kunai pouch and the shuriken holster. Then she kicked off her boots and socks. Clad only in her spandex shorts and breast bindings, Sakura dipped her feet in the water and sighed again, this time in contentment, for the water was warm. She immersed herself all the way to her waist. Her toes squished in the mud below, but that discomfort was ignored for the soothing effect the river had on her skin. The dirt and blood washed away as she splashed around in the shallows, opening her mind to the nearby area to make sure nothing snuck up on her while she was busy enjoying herself.

Sakura delayed for another ten minutes until she was positive someone would come looking for her if she didn't get back to camp quickly. "Damn," she muttered, ducking her head underneath one last time. Under the water, she ran her fingers through her hair to dislodge any remaining stubborn grit, then surfaced when her lungs demanded fresh air.

The pink-haired kunoichi finally crawled out of the shallows and stood gratefully in the hot morning air. She stretched while she waited for her body to dry; she hated wearing wet clothing even more than she hated cleaning out Naruto's apartment. When she was finally dry, she threw her dirty clothes back on - at least _she_ was clean - and headed back for camp, fervently hoping that Kakashi would still be absent when she got there.

Of course, her luck was notoriously bad, just like her shishou's.

She barely had set foot into camp when she saw him sitting next to the fire with Genma and Hana and the third ANBU whom Sakura had never met before, discussing something quietly. He must have felt her glare, for the masked shinobi turned his head to glance at her. Sakura let her glare linger one moment longer just to make sure he got the idea that she was furious with him, then stomped over to Sai and Naruto.

Naruto gave her a small smile, though the worry in his eyes let her know he was thinking about her. "It'll be fine," he said again, handing her a plate with a cooked egg on it. She nodded in response and quickly ate the egg, then set the plate aside.

The dark-haired artist looked up at her from over his sketchbook.

"Don't you _ever_ get tired of drawing in that thing?" Sakura asked curiously; Sai always opened it whenever there was a moment to spare.

Sai frowned. "No."

Naruto met her gaze and shrugged. Whatever he was going to say was interrupted as Genma, Hana, Kakashi and the other ANBU, whose name was Kaitomaru, all got to their feet. With a flurry of hand seals, Kakashi extinguished the fire with a small water jutsu.

Genma grinned at them. "Up and at 'em," he called raucously, "Time to head home."

Kaitomaru, a slight, young man, looked them over with an appraising eye. "How are you all feeling?" he asked softly. Unlike Genma's lazy drawl, Kaitomaru had a very smooth voice. He couldn't be much older than they were, perhaps twenty-five or twenty-six. He had reddish hair and green eyes and was good looking enough, though nondescript. Sakura would have pegged him for a simple civilian if he hadn't been wearing the ANBU uniform. But then again, looks were oftentimes deceiving.

Naruto laughed and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good as ever, dattebayo!"

From behind him, Sai snorted.

_Here we go_, Sakura thought dryly as she automatically reached over and grabbed Naruto's arm as he moved passed her in a rush to tackle their other teammate to the ground. "Not now, baka!" she barked authoritatively, something which caused the ANBU - minus Kakashi - to laugh.

Kaitomaru smiled, though it was very reserved. He seemed the no-nonsense newcomer to ANBU who needed to prove himself responsible, especially since he kept glancing over at Genma and Kakashi with a submissive and respectful air. Sakura resisted rolling her eyes; honestly, if only Kaitomaru knew what those two men were like when they were off-duty. He probably wouldn't respect them as much, that was for sure.

Genma turned to look at Kakashi. "On your command," he said wryly, adjusting the senbon in his mouth with his tongue.

Sakura helped Naruto and Sai roll up their bedrolls and fix their belongings in their packs as Hana and Kaitomaru scattered the ashes of their fire through the wind. Genma came from the canopy with a large pile of leaves, which he too let scatter through the air to fall onto the ground. When they were all done, there was no trace at all that an ANBU team and an exhausted jounin team had spent the night here. The pink-haired kunoichi sighed as she shouldered her pack, knowing that the walk home would be anything but a stroll through the park. Her eyes boring holes into Kakashi's back, they all marched forward through Leaf Country, intent on returning home.

-

Two hours later - after sweeping the forest one last time - the Western gate to the hidden leaf village finally appeared before them. Kakashi had stopped them for a moment as they felt new chakra signatures enter the area, but when Hyuuga Neji lifted his mask to reveal his face and nod a greeting, their teams were able to enter Konoha knowing that another squad had taken their place. She watched the squad of four disappear into the forest behind them, wondering who else was with Neji.

Naruto uttered a long, drawn out sigh. She glanced over at him curiously; his hands were deep in his pockets and his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the bright sun. "Good to be back?" she asked with a smile.

"No," he groaned, "I want another mission."

"So you say," Sai replied, "But here you are."

Naruto opened his blue eyes to glare at his teammate.

Sakura, sensing another verbal battle was on its way, subtly sped up her pace until she was even with Hana. The older kunoichi gave her a knowing look, then laughed as they heard the shinobi behind them begin to tussle. "Is it always like this?" the wolf-woman asked as they walked through the streets leading to the Hokage's Tower.

"Yeah, actually," Sakura replied with a sigh.

"Dickless!"

"Gay!"

"You've never had a girlfriend-"

"You'll be happy with a boyfriend-"

"-now I realize why-"

"Want me to introduce you to-"

"-you're so lonely-'

"-that new guy who lives in my building? He has blokes over-"

"Why would I want a boyfriend? Do _you_ need one? He'll have enough dick for the two of-"

"SAI! NARUTO!" Sakura screeched, causing the passerby's in the street to glance over at them curiously, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The three male ANBU paused momentarily to glance behind them. Kakashi's eyes caught on hers; her breath sped up along with her heart as he actually looked at her for the first time that morning. For a second, she thought he might smile and joke along with Sai and Naruto. However, he blinked slowly and looked away. Instead, it was Genma who joined in with the two younger shinobi, going so far as to tease that if Sai was so obsessed with Naruto's dick that maybe they should get together.

Naruto, of course, turned bright red with anger and soon began yelling all of the reasons why he most definitely was _not _gay.

Sakura was only half -listening to her teammates, though; Kakashi may have turned away, but he hadn't completely ignored her like a sulky child. Before she could take a step towards him to talk to him, Hana, who had lazily been watching the three hotheaded shinobi argue, sighed and called, "Alright children, let's go. We've still got to report in to the Hokage."

Kaitomaru nodded and followed the buxom woman, hot on her heels. Sakura internally shook her head, wondering why she hadn't seen it before. Kaitomaru obviously had a thing for his teammate, whether he knew it or not. Kakashi too seemed to have noticed, for a silver eyebrow arched over his revealed eye. He almost turned to her once again, then changed his mind and tried to cover up his jerky movement by latching onto Naruto's arm and pulling him away from Sai as Genma laughed.

His arm accidentally touched hers to do so.

Her breath hitched. She itched to reach out and touch him-

But then he was gone, dragging Naruto with him.

It only took a few more minutes to reach the Hokage's tower. Naruto and Sai were now ignoring each other - to the obvious relief of the three ANBU, Kakashi and herself - and although no one was filling the silence, the atmosphere around them was not uncomfortable. Maybe they were all too tired to be uncomfortable. Looking at Genma, she wondered how happy Shizune would be when her lover was safe and sound in her arms. She wished she could be just as lucky. Sakura watched Kakashi as they walked up the stairs, wondering if maybe someday, _they_ could be that happy.

Tsunade-sama was just entering her office when she looked at the newcomers climbing the stairs. She gave a weary smile when she saw them and held open the door. "Hmm... Squad 7 and ANBU Squad 13. You're right on time. If you'll just step into my office, you can report, then head home." When Sakura passed her old teacher, Tsunade gave her a warm wink.

Sakura moved to stand next to Naruto at the end of the line of shinobi, crossing her arms over her chest and shifting her weight from leg to leg. Kakashi was the last one in, so he closed the door behind him. She unintentionally held her breath as he neared her; without looking down at her, he took up a post beside her. When the love-addled kunoichi remembered to breathe again, she realized how close he was to her. She only had to move slightly and her arm would brush against his. Fleetingly, she wondered if he knew what his presence did to her.

Tsunade addressed the ANBU first. "Kakashi, Genma, Hana and Kaitomaru," she said, leafing through her folder until she found their team file, "I trust your mission was pulled off without a hitch."

"Actually," Genma droned lazily, chewing on his senbon, "Team 7 got to our target first."

Sakura blushed as Tsunade looked at them curiously.

"We walked into a trap," Sai explained simply, "Their decoy, which turned out to be their leader, appeared to be scouting. Naruto-kun hung back while Ha- Sakura-san and I attacked. But while we did, we were surrounded by the rest of the Hunter-nins. The leader attacked Sakura-san while Naruto-kun and I fought off the five others. Sakura-san finally killed the leader with an Earth jutsu. I had killed my targets, but Naruto-kun took a bad fall and bruised his ribs. Sakura-san ran to cover Naruto-kun as the Hunter tried to kill him. Then Kakashi-san's ANBU team came and killed the other two Stone nins, while Kakashi-san saved Naruto-kun and Sakura-san."

"I wouldn't say _saved,_" Naruto grumbled under his breath, apparently just as angry at Kakashi as Sakura was herself.

The Godaime fixed her hawk-like gaze onto Sakura. "What can you tell me about this leader? Did you learn anything from him before you killed him?"

Sakura nodded. "His name was Daeco... He said I was stupid for not recognizing him." She was surprised when, out of the corner of her eye, both Kaitomaru and Hana stiffened at the name. "He said that he had been experimented on... he could feel no pain. No matter what I hit him with, he still kept attacking. I even ruined his eye and hit brain matter, but he still stayed on his feet. I couldn't get close enough to wound him safely, so I... the Earth swallowed him whole. He bled to death."

Tsunade nodded once. "Although I would have liked to learn more about him, I trust your judgement, Sakura. He was too dangerous to be allowed to live."

"Hai, shishou."

The powerful kunoichi sitting in front of them then looked at Kakashi. "Is there anything else you want to report, Hatake?"

Kakashi seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Sakura briefly wondered whether he was going to share her dangerous stunt with the Hokage. But instead he shrugged and her worries were put to rest. She had hoped that he would not have reported her. _But for what?_ Sakura thought inwardly, _What did I do wrong that made him so angry with me?_

"There is nothing else to tell. After Team 7 disposed of Daeco and three other Hunter-nins, all we had to do was wipe off the rest."

"Good," Tsunade said, "You are all free to go. I would like written reports from all of you on my desk no later than the morning after tomorrow. Dismissed."

Sakura peered to her right. Genma and Hana were the first to leave the office, followed by an overeager Kaitomaru. Sakura wondered if Kakashi would try to speak with her then, but he didn't look back as he followed them out the door. She sighed in frustration and turned to look at her two teammates. Naruto gave her a small smile, and Sai even - in an act so extraordinary for the artist - rested his hand on her shoulder supportively. He _had_ been doing his research, after all, even if he didn't exactly understand the meaning behind those acts.

"Thanks," she said to her team, "I don't know about you, but I'm going home to sleep. I'll see you both after we finish our reports."

"Sure," Naruto said, just as tiredly, "See you Sai-baka, Sakura-chan."

"Goodbye," Sai replied simply with a wave.

-

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"What the hell..." Sakura mumbled, throwing back the blankets to peer around her room blearily. "The phone!"

She raced down the hallway and all put skid into her kitchen. On the small island in the middle, her phone was all but ringing off of its cradle. She glanced at the caller-ID, then picked up the phone and answered it. "Hey Ino."

_"Forehead! I've been calling you all morning-"_

Sure enough, when Sakura looked at the blinking red light she saw three missed calls. "Geez, Ino-pig," she sighed, though she was smiling, "I had a mission yesterday. I was trying to sleep in. And it's only eleven in the morning!"

_"Late enough that you should be awake,"_ her blonde friend retorted with a giggle, _"C'mon, I haven't seen you in weeks. Want to come to lunch with me, Shika and CHouji? We're heading-"_

"Anywhere but Ichiraku," Sakura interjected, distractedly playing with her pink hair, "I've had so much ramen I swear if I eat one more bowl I'll-"

_"No, no," _Ino laughed, _"The new sushi restaurant that went in near the western gate! I haven't been there, but Shikamaru went once with Neji's team and said it was good-"_

"Count me in!" she said, "What time do you want to meet there?"

_"Hmm... how about one o'clock? And wear something nice! You only ever wear your usual-"_

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Ino, I'll wear something nice."

_"Okay, that's settled. Come to my place at one, and then we'll all go. Sound good?"_

"Yeah, sounds perfect. I'll be there at one."

_"Good. See you Forehead."_

"Ja ne, Ino-pig."

She hung up the phone with a wry smile, then walked over to the edge of the counter and turned on the coffee pot. She was excited to hang out with her friends again; Ino she hadn't seen in two weeks since they went out to eat with Naruto and Sai, and then Ino had flirted with Sai so much that Sakura had had a hard time getting a word in around it. Shikamaru she had seen, but it was very briefly at the marketplace. The genius had, unsurprisingly, been towed around by his overpowering mother and was helping her with the groceries. Sakura had to laugh at the look he had sent her that plainly said, "Help me." Sakura had even seen Chouji; he had broken his femur after a bad sparring session with his father, so they had brought him in to the hospital to get it looked at.

"Hmm," she mused, "Something nice...?"

She glanced at the coffee pot pleadingly, but it wouldn't be done for another three minutes. With a sigh, Sakura returned to her room and opened her closet door. Inside were skirts and blouses for her shifts at the hospital, a few kimono for the midsummer and midwinter festivals, and three dresses. Two were silk and were much too fancy for going out to lunch, but the cotton white sun-dress would be appropriate. Sakura frowned, then held the dress up in front of her. It did not have a low neckline - something Sakura greatly appreciated - and it had a nice brown detailed stitch on the thin straps and the hemline. She would definitely have to wear spandex underneath the dress, for it was too short for comfort. "Oh well. Ino had better be happy."

She had the sudden fleeting wish to see Kakashi as she poured herself coffee. With a sigh of defeat, the kunoichi slammed her head against the wall. "God dammit," she groaned, "I'm supposed to be angry at him! I _should_ be angry at him!" But even as she fought to think of something else that would occupy her thoughts for another four hours, that day at the training grounds weeks before popped into her mind.

_Sakura whipped the hair out of her face with an impatient hand, scanning her surroundings for the elusive Copy Ninja. "He has to be here somewhere," she muttered, letting her chakra spike just the slightest to give away her position. But he wasn't stupid, and she didn't exactly expect him to attack her like that if it was such an obvious trap. Green eyes narrowed as a branch cracked from above her, but she stayed still in her hiding place. "Try harder, Kaka-sensei," she called out musically._

_Then there was silence._

_She settled down to wait; soon enough he would come to her-_

_The ground exploding underneath her feet sent her flying through the air. His strong hand missed grabbing her ankle by mere centimeters. She grinned, then grabbed a tree branch to swing herself forward out of his grasp. Just as she was sailing safely away, he was in front of her. Sakura quickly concentrated chakra into her fists and punched at him in between blocking his own attacks. Panting, Sakura hit the ground running and ducked under his wild punch, but was thrown back into the air by the leg that she didn't see coming. "Dammit," she cursed._

_Kakashi didn't hesitate to throw her back to the ground. She knew that his kick had lacked its usual power and was slightly angry at the fact that he was going so easy on her. "Kakashi!" she shouted up at him, "Stop holding back!"_

_The older shinobi looked at her. "I don't want-"_

_Sakura shook her head furiously, "The only way I'll improve is to fight against someone who doesn't treat me like a baby!" Her fist managed to graze the side of his face and send him back a couple of paces. Two mismatched eyes searched her face solemnly._

_"Fine," he consented softly, "Let's go."_

_More chakra concentrated in her fists and her legs. He would see that. Let him. Using the chakra signature of her obvious weapons to cover the _second_ chakra signature as she laced her fingertips with more chakra to anesthetize his muscles, the kunoichi moved to attack._

_Before she knew it, she was flying through the air again, her side on fire with pain. She spat out blood and twisted in the air to land on her hands and knees, but Kakashi was too fast for her. Another kick increased her speed; the ground was now hurtling towards her. Dimly, she tried to get her arms out in front of her but they wouldn't work. Why would they not respond...?_

_Then she realized he had caused her fingers to touch her own arms. He had turned her attack against her! And now she was falling to the ground, unable to stop herself!_That's going to hurt,_ was the last thing she thought before she closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact-_

_For the impact that never came. She was held against a firm body, though she could feel ground beneath her back. Her head was held up off the ground a few inches, supported by a gloved hand. Her emerald eyes snapped open to find Kakashi hovered above her; he must have landed on top of her, for his face was so close to her own... In her dazed state, she realized that she had never actually _seen_ her sensei. Although his Sharingan was still spinning dangerously, she knew he would never use it against her. What mesmerized her, though, was his grey eye. She had never before seen the flecks of stormy blue that circled around the iris; it looked like lightening. _

_Sakura leaned closer, unaware that she was doing so until they inches apart. There was an odd expression on his face, she gathered as she came back down to earth; his eyes were fixated on her mouth. Unconsciously, she licked her lips. His pupils seemed to dilate._

She slammed the cabinet door shut. "Stop, stop," she told herself, walking into her living room and sinking into her couch. It had been that moment that she realized that all the things she looked for in a man - honesty, bravery, strength, even a good sense of humor - could be found in the man holding her up. The man who had taught her since she was a stupid genin all those years ago. The man who taught her to protect her friends above all else. The man who had ignored her and turned his attentions to her skilled teammates. The man who all but disappeared off the face of the earth when Naruto left with Jiraiya and she, Sakura, was left alone.

Why did it hurt so much that Kakashi never took the time to train her? Was it because she had always thought of him as a man? Sure, he had been in the background when she thought herself in love with...Sasuke. She hadn't thought of Sasuke in such a long time... Sakura got to her feet and padded back into her bedroom where, sitting on her bureau, was her old genin team picture. She picked it up and held it, gazing down into the familiar faces. Naruto was still Naruto, though she couldn't help but smile at the look on his face as he glared over at Sasuke. Her smile slipped as she looked at Sasuke; had he been planning to defect from Konoha even as this picture was snapped? Did he plan to try and kill Naruto to end all attachment to his village and obtain a powerful weapon?

And Kakashi... His eye was creased in a smile, and his hands were ruffling the hair of his two male teammates. He looked...content.

She didn't even look at the picture of herself. She didn't have to. Ashamed at how easily persuaded she had been, how easily lost, how easily...defeated... Sakura slammed the picture back down onto her dresser, accidentally shattering the glass in the process. The picture wobbled out of the frame and floated to land on the wood. She stared at it impassively for a few seconds, then turned on her heel and stomped into her living room, not bothering to clean up the mess.

"Sasuke," she said out loud, waiting for herself to feel something. But all she felt was now regret and loss, not the love she once had felt. Not the desire to wake up with him in the morning, to train with him, to watch him and Naruto bicker much like Sai and Naruto did in the present. Kakashi would train Naruto and Sasuke to further their own skills, while Sakura waited in the background for her turn that never came, content only to watch the backs of those she loved walk further and further away from her.

Who was she kidding? Kakashi had never noticed her. He never would. She would never be a woman to him, but always a little genin who couldn't look after herself. The mission proved that. He thought her incapable. But what hurt the most was that she knew she was not as capable as her teammates. After all she had gone through to train herself to become better, stronger, faster, Naruto was always one step ahead of her. Everyone was always one step ahead of her.

The pink-haired woman sat back down on her sofa, willing something else to come to mind.

It wasn't that easy.

She wondered if Naruto still thought about Sasuke... he hadn't mentioned him in a couple of months now, at least not to her. She didn't want to abandon Sasuke, but at the same time knew that they hadn't. The Uchiha had abandoned _them._ Maybe Naruto had realized that. Maybe Naruto thought that if Sasuke wanted to return - _when _Sasuke wanted to return - he would of his own volition.

Feeling slightly better at that thought, she finished her coffee and then walked into the bathroom to shower.

It was twelve thirty when Sakura finally emerged from her room, hair still slightly damp. She stopped to fix her dress around her waist, then entered her kitchen to check her phone one last time. There was one missed call, but she didn't recognize the number. She frowned down at it, debating whether or not to call the unknown person back. The fact that she had to meet Ino at her house in half an hour made her mind, and she slipped on her shoes and left her apartment without calling that person back. _They didn't leave a message. Must not have been that important. _Vaguely, she wondered if Kakashi had a phone.

The sun was warm as Sakura stepped out into the street. She closed her eyes and smiled; weather in Konoha was always beautiful. It worked to lessen her sudden dissatisfaction with the pattern of her life. She had wanted Sasuke to return for as long as she could remember... but Team 7 did not involve the Uchiha anymore. Sai, the initial replacement, had become a part of them. So had Yamato-taichou, when they actually got to see him. She felt like she had grown up and blossomed, but somehow, it wasn't enough. She was twenty-three and lonely. She had gone and fallen in love with her old sensei.

All her accomplishments didn't seem to matter now. She just wanted...more.

With a sigh, the pink-haired woman squared her shoulders and strode off down the street to Ino's house, green eyes clouded with thought. To a passerby she was ethereal, beautiful and sad at the same time. Her hair, a little longer than shoulder-length and a peculiar color, floated behind her in the breeze. In her young, youthful face were eyes that were too wise, too knowing to belong to her.

Sakura had a grip on her wily emotions by the time she reached Ino's apartment two buildings over from the Yamanaka house. Her blonde friend was waiting for her outside, clad in a pretty green skirt that was decorated with white flowers at the hem and a white sleeveless top. Enviously, Sakura wished that she looked as feminine as the voluptuous kunoichi standing before her.

"Nice dress," Ino greeted with a grin, her blue eyes dancing in her face, "Is that the one I bought you for your birthday?"

"The same," Sakura replied, reaching out to hug her, "I was surprised that I actually liked it."

Ino pretended to be angry at that comment. "I have a _fantastic_ taste in clothing," she teased back, "Just because they are too showy for your shy little ass doesn't mean that-""Yeah, yeah. Besides, I'd rather not flaunt anything in front of-"

"-that guy at the bar _was_ cute, Forehead. If you had just taken his number-"

"He was a civilian, you know I don't do civilian boyfriends-"

"Oh who cares. Lucky for me _I_ took his number."

"But Ino-pig, you are with Shikamaru!"

"I took it for you, Forehead. I think you should give him a chance. If you're not that serious about him, at least you can have a toy to play with."

Sakura gaped. "I _cannot_ believe you just said that." Together they continued down the street to the restaurant.

"Believe it."

She shook her head. She wanted romance, sure, but she only wanted it with one man who proved to be just as stubborn and irritating as she remembered from her genin days. Two minutes later they arrived at the restaurant. Chouji and Shikamaru were waiting for them outside of the building, lounging lazily by the garden. Shikamaru looked as tired as always, though he grinned and waved his hand in their direction. He was wearing khaki shorts and a white shirt underneath a blue button up. Chouji smiled at them; the sweet man was just as large as always, but it wasn't baby fat anymore and was pure muscle and bulk. Sakura waved, happy to see them both.

Ino shook her head, a faint blush visible on her cheeks. Although Ino liked to joke around about meeting attractive men - especially around Sakura - they really didn't matter to her in light of Shikamaru. Sakura wondered if they were together because of how close they all had been as children and genin. Shikamaru knew all of Ino's faults, just as she knew all of his. But it didn't seem to matter one iota because they appeared happy when they were together. Even as she mused on that development, Shikamaru unfolded his arms and gave his girlfriend and teammate a one-armed hug.

They sat down to eat not five minutes later outside on the patio. Sakura took a seat next to Ino on the square table and picked up the menu, relieved to see that its contents did not resemble anything on the Ichiraku menu. Chouji, noticing her relief, laughed. "And it isn't barbecue either."

"But I thought you _loved_ barbecue!"

The Akimichi shinobi shrugged as Ino giggled behind a manicured hand. "Well, can't have too much of a good thing-"

"What Chouji means," Shikamaru cut across slyly, leaning forward on his elbow to whisper conspiratorially to the kunoichi, "is that his first choice was barbecue. But seeing as Ino here was calling the shots, as long as this place had a good meat menu, we were fine."

"Oi, Shikamaru!" Chouji complained mockingly.

Sakura laughed openly at that. The four then settled down for a nice lunch filled to the brim with laughter, drinks and finger-food. She was able to momentarily forget her troubles and enjoy the small reprieve that being with friends granted her.

-

A few hours later, Sakura was halfway home. She wasn't really in much of a hurry; lunch had ended a couple of hours ago now. She smiled to herself; she really had enjoyed herself today. Maybe it was the change of people, ones who did not know the fight between her and Kakashi. Maybe it was because Naruto was not there sending her glances full of pity. Or maybe it was because she didn't have to fight to prove herself to them, even though she and Ino were always trying to show the other up. It was all for fun and not entirely serious anymore.

She glanced back over her shoulder as she neared Naruto's apartment building. The lights were on in his room, but she doubted he would be up there. Unless he had company or he was exhausted, Naruto could never be found in his apartment. He was too wired for running around to live a sedentary lifestyle. She briefly thought about going up to visit him. "Eh," she finally muttered to herself, "I'll see him tomorrow." With that, she continued on her way.

The kunoichi didn't make it far before she sensed something coming from behind one of the nearby buildings. She inconspicuously compressed her chakra and leapt unto the roof, momentarily forgetting her choice of clothing. Blushing and thanking Kami that it was dark enough to cover her up, she gathered her skirt around her thighs and held it there as she climbed onto the ledge and peered into the alleyway below her. It took her only a split second to recognize her blond teammate with a dark haired woman. She strained to hear the low mumble of his voice but could not make out what he was saying.

Then it hit her.

Hinata Hyuuga was with Naruto. And she was crying.

Her heart constricted at the thought of her friend. Although she and Hinata had never been close, especially after the Kiba incident, she still admired the Hyuuga heiress and respected her abilities. But why was she here, with Naruto? And why was she so upset?

Sakura inspected them through narrowed eyes. Naruto looked...angry. His hold on her shoulders looked tight and almost painful as he forced the dark haired woman to look up at him. He was talking again, but she still did not know what he was saying. Hinata averted her eyes, but her teammate forced her once again to pay attention to what he was saying. He loosened his hold on her as she threw her arms around him and cried onto his shoulder.

The pink-haired kunoichi held her breath as Hinata suddenly ripped away from Naruto and tried to leave. She didn't get far, for Naruto captured her arm once more and kissed her. Sakura found that she couldn't look away as Hinata kissed him back, tears still running down her smooth cheeks. When they broke apart, she whispered something to him, then once more left the circle of his arms and hurried off into the night.

Naruto stood alone in the dark.

As quietly as she could, Sakura inched off and left, her heart pounding in her chest. _What is going on?_ she wondered sadly.

-

To be continued...

-

_Rough Translations_

**Baka=** stupid

**Shishou:=** master

**Sensei=** teacher

**Ja ne!=** See you later

**Wow, I am glad so many people like this piece! Thanks for all the love, the constructive criticism, and more love. Special thanks to "Ai" for translation fine-tuning and "Electric Risk" for her thoughts, likes and dislikes. I really like constructive criticism, because the aim of all writers, more than expressing themselves, is how to **_**better**_** express themselves. Okay, enough rambling.**

**My apologies that this took so long. Life caught up with me for a couple of weeks.**

**-JackieLupin**


	4. Chapter 4

**"****Firefight****" by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.**

**Rated for language, battle sequences, and adult themes.**

-

You know I burn up like a chemical fire

When I'm reacting to your touch.

We're gonna walk straight down to the rock coast and pray

For the ocean water to cover us

Speak loud, you're allowed.

Scream we're gonna get out of this town

Is it hell? No, it's not hell when you're around

It's not hell when you're around.

I'm feeling your blue skies

Through an overcast of clouds,

And I know that you're the weather now.

-**Sparks The Rescue, **"Hello Mexico."

-

**CHAPTER FOUR**

-

"Is something wrong?" Sai asked curiously as the tip of his katana once again pressed against Naruto's throat, "That is the fifth time that I have pinned you."

Naruto scowled and smacked the blade away from his body. "Shut up, bastard," he growled angrily as he stomped off to gather his kunai that were embedded in the ground and trees before them. Sai watched him go, his head cocked to the side, unable to comprehend what would have his teammate at the end of his rope.

Watching the scene unfold a safe distance away stood Sakura, a sad expression on her face. She hadn't really had the chance to talk to Naruto that morning; when she arrived at the training grounds around noontime, Sai and Naruto were already at it. But there was definitely something off about her teammate. He wasn't joking around with Sai like he normally did and seemed to take everything the artist said as the deepest insult. His eyes were narrowed in complete focus, his mouth one tight, unbroken line that failed to budge once.

Sakura would have been extremely worried if she hadn't witnessed what had angered Naruto the night before. She knew what was bothering him and wanted to help, but at the same time was very relieved that it was not as serious as something else could have been. She really would rather not think about what could be worse.

Sai turned to her. "Did I do something to make Naruto-kun angry?" he asked quietly so that their third teammate would not overhear them.

Sakura, who knew better than to try and explain the emotion of love to Sai, simply shrugged. "I don't know," she lied, "Maybe Ichiraku closed."

Her joke fell onto deaf ears. "I don't think Ichiraku closing would anger him this much." Sai frowned, looking completely perplexed.

"Never mind," she sighed.

Naruto stuffed his belongings back into his kunai pouch, then straightened up and looked over at them. Sakura tried to meet his eyes, but he wasn't in the mood for talking. His eyes were fixated on Sai. "Come and get me," he taunted, though there was no trace of humor in his voice. "If you can."

She shook her head. He was really looking for a fight.

He launched himself at Sai and they rolled through the air, a blur of orange, black and blond. Not wishing to stay to witness the brutal battle as Naruto fought Sai to rid himself of all his pent-up frustrations, Sakura stretched and contented herself to sit down in the shade of a giant oak tree and write her report for Tsunade-sama about their previous mission. Sure, it would be a little late, but frankly, she didn't really care and Tsunade-sama wasn't really a stickler for deadlines anyway.

Half an hour later, Naruto had finally beaten Sai into submission, the sun was touching the tips of the tree-line and her mission report was finally done. She blew gently on the ink to urge it to dry faster, then tied the scroll up with a piece of twine. With a deflated sigh, Sakura pulled herself to her feet and glanced over at her teammates in exasperation. Naruto had Sai gripped in a rather uncomfortable-looking headlock, and he did not seem to want to let the artist go anytime soon. Deciding it would be in Sai's best interests to intervene before things turned nasty, Sakura dropped her scroll to the ground and leapt over to the two.

With a quick _yank_ and a great push, Sakura managed to loosen Naruto's grip around Sai's neck and then send him flying back a couple of feet. Sai fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing. "That's enough," Sakura said to Naruto with a wry grin, "I think he got the idea."

The blond shrugged and turned away.

Sakura shook her head at that. What happened with Hinata the night before really was messing with his mind. "You all right?" she asked Sai, her eyes still on Naruto.

"Yes, I am fine."

"Then we're done for today," she announced, fixing Sai with eyes that left no room for argument, "We'll meet tomorrow."

Sai nodded. "Okay." He looked at Naruto, who was still ignoring their presence. "See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san." The poor ex-ROOT shinobi was just as confused as ever, though he seemed to understand Naruto's need to be alone well enough that he wasn't going to inquire about his mercurial mood changes - at least not where the dangerous shinobi could hear him.

"Bye, Sai."

She waited until Sai was no longer in earshot before she turned to Naruto just in time to see him leave the training grounds as well. Sakura frowned and debated whether or not to follow him. Did he need time before he was ready to talk to her? Or did he want her company but couldn't bring himself to ask? She didn't want to push him before he was ready, for that would push him _away_ from her.

With a sigh, Sakura raced towards the Hokage's Tower to drop off her mission scroll. Five minutes later, she blew through the front doors and flew up the stairs. In her haste, she nearly ran into someone coming down the stairs. Squeezing up against the wall, the pink-haired kunoichi continued on her way with a hasty, "Gomen!"

She spotted Shizune a few feet away with Ton-Ton. "Can you give this..."

The older woman raised an eyebrow at her disheveled appearance and flushed cheeks, then took the scroll from her firm grip. "Sure, Sakura-chan. Uh.."

"Thanks!" Now, where would Naruto go? Not back to his apartment... Sakura leapt out of the window and vaulted across to the roof adjacent to the ledge and ran along its length. There were three places that Naruto could be found, rain or shine. One was Ichiraku. But Naruto was not in the mood for company, so he wouldn't be there. The lake was another place where Naruto liked to romp. But again, there would be too many people around, for it was a hot, muggy day.

The last place was the Hokage Mountain.

Sure enough, five minutes later when Sakura reached the top there was a large silhouette sitting at the edge of the cliff. Slowly she walked over to him, unmasking her chakra as she did so. He turned his head slightly, acknowledging her presence. Taking that as a silent invitation, Sakura sat down beside him and swung her feet over the edge of the cliff.

They sat in silence for a while, neither making any effort to break the quiet lull of the afternoon. Sakura gazed down at the rooftops of Konoha, still slightly amazed at just how large the hidden village was. As far as she could see there were houses and buildings that cluttered the streets of the busy, bustling city. The civilians up and about looked like small ants marching to and from its colony gathering food. There was a dull roar emanating from the heart of the city that made up the mundane sounds of food cooking, children laughing as their parents chatted away happily, and even the shinobi that weaved their way in and out during their time off, trying to find some normalcy in their lives.

Sakura eventually turned to look at Naruto. Her teammate, sensing her gaze switch to him, sent her a small smile. "Hey," he murmured quietly.

She smiled back. "Hey."

He heaved a heavy sigh. "Guess you want to know what's wrong?"

"Only if you feel like telling me."

Naruto laughed lightly. "I'll take that as a yes." He was silent for a few more moments, obviously pondering where to begin his tale. Sakura waited patiently, already knowing the ending and very curious about the story behind what she saw the night before. "Well," he began, "I guess I should tell you that I'm in love with Hinata... and that I think she loves me back."

Pretending like she had no idea where this was going, Sakura asked, "But I thought-"

"-she was with Kiba. No, not anymore. Hinata did like him, in the beginning. She was unsure though because she thought you would be heartbroken. But after a couple of months, she realized he would never... never be..."

Sakura nodded. "I see... but she didn't end it, because that would hurt their team."

"Exactly." Naruto sighed and added with a sheepish smile, "I guess I'm also partly to blame. I realized how much I cared for her only _after_ they got together. After you and Kiba...well, you know. Anyway, I told her."

She laughed. "How'd that go?" she teased.

Her teammate laughed. "Oh, the usual. But she told me she felt the same."

Silence stretched between them for a moment. "So...what's going on now?"

Naruto shrugged and crossed his arms. "She... she is going to end it, with Kiba. Then... then we'll finally be together."

"I didn't know you cared about her so much," Sakura said quietly, glancing over at him, "You never mentioned her..."

"I figured you had enough to worry about at the time," her teammate told her with sympathetic smile, throwing a friendly arm across her shoulders, "And besides, I was a little confused myself. I didn't know why them being together made me so angry. At first I thought I was angry at them _for_ you. But then I realized that I was angry too because I liked her. And then it was too late."

She nodded, feeling like there was nothing else she could say to that. Inwardly, she was relieved to hear that everything was working out with him. _At least one of us is going to be happy,_ she thought with a bit of jealousy.

"Is there someone for you, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked softly after a long silence, staring out at the distant horizon. He squeezed her gently.

She followed his gaze and watched as a flock of birds took off into the horizon, flying farther and farther away until they were just specks of gold and black against the sunlight. "Yeah," she finally replied quietly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I think there is..."

He didn't press her for a name, which she was entirely grateful to him for. How would she tell him? She knew now that her feelings for their old sensei were not just a passing fancy. She was in too deep already to turn back. And no one else had made her feel what he had in that simple touch. The hand threaded through her hair had sent chills down her back; the look in his eyes made her want to kiss him. His presence calmed and excited her at the same time. She didn't want to give up those giddy feelings, nor did she want to give up the man who had been a constant in her life. Well, constant at a distance. She wanted nothing more than to close that gap that filled the void between them.

First she needed to talk with him. But he had angered her with his comment on the mission; Sakura yearned for him to acknowledge her skills as a kunoichi. She needed to prove to him how strong she was.

Putting away the sad thoughts for another time, Sakura leaned back against her friend. They watched the sun set on the horizon in companionable, understanding silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

-

"Dammit!" Sakura cursed the next morning when she opened her refrigerator and discovered that she was all out of the essential supplies. The milk was empty, there were no eggs, no flour, nothing edible in the house besides cold bread and butter. She slammed the door shut and sighed. "Dammit," she repeated with much less gusto.

The phone rang suddenly; Sakura just about jumped a foot in the air in surprise. Laughing quietly at herself for her excitability, she walked over to the hook and picked it up. "Hello?" she asked.

_"Hey Forehead,"_ Ino said from the other side of the line, _"What's up?"_

She shrugged. "Nothing right now. I was just about to head out to the market."

_"Sounds fun," _her blonde friend said sarcastically, _"Well, anyway, I was just wondering if you had off two days from now. I have a mission lined up for today and tomorrow, so I should be back by then. I figured we could use a girls-day-out for shopping and to catch up."_

Sakura glanced at her calendar. "Sure Ino-pig," she replied with a smile, "Sounds like a plan. Shopping, huh?"

_"Yeah, I need to get some stuff for fall, you know. I need more sweaters."_

"Yeah, you need more sweaters like you need a hole in the head."

_"What? The other three I have already have holes in them-"_

"You _could_ sew them, you know," Sakura teased, "You know what sewing is, right?"

_"Yes, Forehead. Yes, I know what sewing is."_

"Okay, okay. Anyway, have fun on your mission. Oh, and make sure Chouji takes it easy on that leg of his. I don't want him back in the hospital, alright?"

Ino laughed, "_Alright, we'll watch him."_

"Ja ne, Ino."

"_Ja ne, Sakura. Don't kill any poor souls while we're gone."_

"I won't," she promised with a smirk. She hung up the phone when the line went dead, then took a red pen and circled the day and wrote inside, _Ino._ Then she capped the pen and walked into her living room to open some of the windows. It was barely midday and it was already stifling hot. She paused to wipe the sweat off her face, then grabbed her purse, her basket and long list of all the things she needed and left the apartment.

The market was just as busy as she had feared. Sakura raised an eyebrow as she saw all the people crushing their way into the isles, hollering at the men serving meat over the ruckus, chitchat and complaining that everyone else was doing. With a sigh, she entered the store, moving this way and that to avoid running in to a distracted woman searching for the right ingredients.

"Like animals," she muttered darkly when she was finally clear of the mob and safe in the baking isle. The pink-haired woman looked down at her list; she needed flour and sugar from this isle. She stuffed the list in her back pocket and inspected the sugar. All of it was processed; the most expensive one was also the cleanest. With a slight wince at the price, she nevertheless picked up the pound bag and dropped it in her basket.

She stilled; the hair on the back of her neck was standing slightly on edge. Frowning, Sakura glanced around the isle. The only other occupants, besides her, were a mother and her young daughter picking out ingredients to make brownies. She smiled at them, then turned back to her list, wondering why she felt like she was being watched.

"What..." Sakura breathed as the invisible eyes continued to bore holes into her. Ignoring it this time, she walked over to the yeast and picked up a couple of packets. It was then that she sensed the eyes coming somewhere from her right. The kunoichi glanced up and immediately froze.

Kakashi was standing feet from her, looking over a box of dried almonds for baking.

Gaping, she couldn't look away.

She dropped her gaze as soon as their eyes met, silently cursing her luck. Intending to walk passed him and continue on her way, her feet simply refused to budge when a grave, "Sakura...wait," stopped her dead in her tracks. She stared at the floor, refusing to acknowledge his presence until he said what he needed to and was done with it.

The kunoichi felt him before he walked around her to speak to her face to face. The feel of his chakra was what she sensed first; unlike Naruto's that spiked and boiled like a hurricane, Kakashi's flowed like a gentle wave of water washing over the shore. The second thing that told her he was only inches behind her was the slight waft of his pleasing earthy odor. Her eyes slowly slipped shut as the lanky shinobi walked around her -she would _not_ stare at him like a love-struck teenager - but a slight tug of her basket make her glance up curiously. Kakashi took her basket from her stiff grip, his dark eye fixed on her face for any negative reaction that would tell him he crossed a line.

Sakura remained motionless, refusing to be the first to talk. Kakashi gave a slightly exasperated sigh at her obvious reticence, then placed a large hand on her shoulder. "Sakura," he repeated gently, his lilting voice capturing her attention, "I wanted to apologize for my... for what I said on that mission. It was not my place to chide you like you were a child. I did not mean what I said."

Kakashi held out his other hand to her, in which something small and fragile was clutched in it. Flushing, Sakura realized it was a small red flower. She reached out and delicately took the peace offering from him, and in the process accidentally brushed her palm against his knuckles. The silver-haired man wavered uncertainly at the contact, his eye snapping up once again to fix on her face, almost as if she would push him away.

They stood there awkwardly as people flowed around them like a babbling steam, neither shinobi quite able to raise their reluctant eyes from the linoleum floor that spanned the distance between them.

When the terse moment had passed and the isle was once again clear, Sakura inspected the shinobi standing awkwardly in front of her and couldn't help but beam at him. "Thank you," she murmured warmly, tucking the red flower behind her ear. "And apology accepted."

Kakashi smiled down at her. It was only visible from the crease of his eye, but she knew it was genuine. "How can I prove that I am worthy of your acceptance?" he teased quietly, his deep, musical voice weaving an unintentional spell around her as he handed her back the basket of food. Sakura felt like an invalid as she clumsily grasped it close.

"Hmm..." Sakura pretended to ponder as they continued down the isle together. His presence - now that she wasn't completely furious at him - made her skin tingle, made her smile fix itself permanently on her face and the giddiness made her feel like she was dancing through the air. She spotted the orange book held in the crook of his arm and laughed. "You spend one day with me and the team," she said, giving him the ultimatum.

Kakashi smiled. "Sounds easy enough."

"_Without_ a single Icha Icha."

He stared down at her in mock horror as they passed the cereal isle. "What will I read, then?"

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head, grinning. "No reading," she replied, bending down to pick up a pound of flour and dump it in her basket.

He gave a dramatic sigh and put the offending piece of literature - porn - back into his kunai pouch as if it cost him energy to do so. "There," he said, stuffing his now-free hand into his pocket, "All gone."

Sakura giggled. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" she bantered lightly, though she couldn't keep the blush from staining her cheeks as she looked at him. He was tall and lean, towering a complete head over than her average five feet and five inches. He was definitely not as muscular as Naruto was, but no one who fought against him - and most lost - could say he was weak. Like Shikamaru and Lee, he was wiry and thin but had a strong presence. Definitely a man in the prime of life.

He must have noticed her eyes on him, for he fidgeted, switched his weight to the other leg, then cleared his throat. "Just name the day," he said to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Um," she stammered, "How about tomorrow? Yamato-taichou, Naruto, Sai and I are meeting to train, and I don't have a shift at the hospital either, so-"

"Sounds great," Kakashi assured her hastily, throwing a glance over his shoulder as if to ascertain that he hadn't been spotted, "I'm actually late. I was supposed to meet Genma two hours ago-"

Sakura sighed in exasperation. "Go," she said wearily, though her grin told him she was only joking, "And tell him that you found a little lost kitten who accidentally wandered into the street and was about to be trampled."

"Why Sakura," Kakashi protested, "That's cruel." With a feigned solute and the proper hand seals, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke that had all the nearby civilians coughing and glaring at her as if she was the source of all of that smoke. She frowned at them. _For all the things we do for them_, she thought, _They could at least be a little more grateful to us for saving their asses every day._ Shaking her head, Sakura went to the counter to pay for her groceries, looking forward to the next day with a childish level of excitement.

She put all of her items on the belt, then glanced up and saw Kakashi making his way out of the store. She watched as he left the market, empty handed. _He didn't come for supplies_, she absently twirled the flower around between her fingertips, a smile growing on her face as she stared after him. _And I have all day with him tomorrow._

_-_

After a restless night - she was almost too excited and giddy to sleep - Sakura awoke before the alarm on her clock went out and all but skipped out of bed. She sailed into the bathroom in a blur of pink and white and jumped into the shower, biting back a cry of shock as the icy water pelted down on her body. A flurry of questions assailed her as she quickly scrubbed. This would be the first time they had practiced together as a team in nearly a month. And so much had changed. She wondered what it would be like, what would be the dynamics of their practice. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be a one-on-one spar this time around. Would Kakashi even show up? Something was bound to go wrong; would Naruto guess her feelings? He may not be very attentive sometimes, but he always guessed the things that Sakura tried so hard to hide.

Five minutes later she slowed down and glanced in the mirror. A young woman stared back with feverishly shining eyes and reddened cheeks. Sakura felt her spirits drop slightly the longer she stared at her reflection. It was like looking at a reminder of who she was and what her life was like. In the florescent lights she could see the scar that cut through her left eyebrow where the hair would never grow back. The flaws of her nose, a little too large for her face. Her chapped lips that were mismatched and pressed together in a thin line. There was a faint shadow underneath her eyes that betrayed a lack of sleep and a hectic lifestyle. Her damp pink hair, darkened by the water to a dark rosy red, hung limply down her head.

She rested her forehead against the cool, foggy glass and stared into her eyes. "This...is not the way its supposed to be," she murmured quietly to herself. She was well on her way to becoming a solo operative. She had _accepted_ a life without a love to share her bed or comfort her; that was what her friends were for. Sakura had convinced herself that she could be happy without having someone to love her romantically. She would serve her village and go down in history as a successful kunoichi. But then she just _had_ to fall for her old sensei. Her mind told her it was messed up. Her heart, of course, did its best to silence her logic.

She was guided by her feelings and instincts. This time, however, they had to be wrong.

And no matter how she tried to suppress her feelings and thoughts of Kakashi, her treacherous heart snapped her back into line.

And here she was, getting excited over a simple training session. Honestly, she was acting more and more like her teenage self than she had in a long time. She was twenty-three for Kami's sake! Not that pathetic twelve-year-old who chased around Sasuke, and definitely not that twenty one-year-old who had loved and lost Inuzuka Kiba to one of her good friends. At twenty-three, her instincts told her to find that man and create a solid life.

Sakura sighed and pulled her face back from the mirror. She wiped the imprint her face made with her hand, then left the bathroom and turned off the light.

Thanks to her anxious night of tossing and turning, there were still another hour to go before she could go grab Sai and Naruto. Sakura glanced around her apartment; there were dishes in the sink from a hurried dinner the night before, a forgot cup of coffee left on the table in her small living room. Wires and cords decorated the floor in front of the couch, and a random book on cryptology lay open on the floor next to the table. There was a pile of dirty clothes near her bedroom door too that needed washing. With another sigh, Sakura went to tidy up.

Ten minutes later her apartment was clean again and she still had time left to kill before going to wake her teammates. She wondered if Naruto had spoken to Hinata since the night before last and if things had gone well. She wondered if the shy Hyuuga had even mentioned to Kiba that she wanted to be nothing more than just friends.

She brushed the hair back from her face and stared up at her plain, white tiled ceiling. What did the future hold for them?

-

Fifty minutes later Sakura stood outside of Naruto's apartment with Sai and Yamato at her side. Sai opened the intercom panel and buzzed in 12-17. They waited, listening intently for the door to unlock. However, when Yamato went to test it, it was still locked.

Yamato shrugged. "I would climb up," the wood-user said simply, straightening his flak jacket.

"But Naruto-kun's neighbors would complain," Sai added, trying the intercom again.

_"Ugh... what?"_ Naruto's voice came from over the intercom raspy and hoarse. _"Do you have any idea what damn time it is?"_

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Yes," she answered firmly, "It's eight."

_"Well, that's too early."_

Yamato laughed. "C'mon, Naruto, let's go. We haven't trained as a team in a very long time."

_"Is Kaka-sensei gonna come this time?"_

"Yup," the kunoichi answered, growing bored with this conversation. She crossed her arms and leaned against the apartment building complex. It was very tiring and frustrating at times trying to coax Naruto down from his apartment when he was tired.

The door finally clicked open. Sai grabbed the handle and wrenched it open, and they filed up into the elevator. "About damn time," Sakura murmured under her breath; Yamato sent her an amused smile. The doors squeezed shut seconds later and they were left with an unpleasant screeching sound as the elevator clicked off of the tracks and began its slow ascent. Sakura gritted her teeth together as Sai calmly walked around, unsettling the elevator even more than it already was.

Sure enough they reached the top before the elevator decided to give in. Sakura hastily stepped out and glared at Sai once more before walking over to Naruto's door and slamming her fist on it. "Get up, Naruto!" she called out loudly, jittery and anxious. She would have slapped herself in the face if Sai and Yamato hadn't been worth her; she needed to calm down.

The door opened to reveal a bleary blue eye that looked at them in exasperation. With a long, deep yawn, Naruto swung the door open and wordlessly invited them in. "I'll be ready soon," he mumbled, slouching off into the bathroom. Moments later they heard the water running.

Yamato sighed and took a seat on the couch. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable," he said plainly.

Sai nodded and sat down next to him.

They both looked at Sakura expectantly.

She glowered back with an eyebrow raised, one foot already tapping on Naruto's wooden floor. This was going to take _forever. _

Ten minutes later when Naruto finally stepped out of the bathroom, dripping water onto the carpet but fully clothed, Sakura felt ready to burst out of her own skin. That, or implode with impatience. Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry it took so long, guys. I had a late night..."

"Why?" Sai asked curiously, but Naruto shrugged it off and stole a glance at her.

"Nothing really. Just couldn't sleep."

Yamato got to his feet. The tall shinobi stretched slightly, then adjusted the metal face plate he wore. "Hopefully you'll be ready to go now," he teased, "We're training with Kakashi today."

Naruto's face brightened. "Awesome!" he cried excitedly, "I haven't seen that old man in weeks!"

"Did you not hear us earlier?" Sakura asked dryly, crossing her arms over her chest, "We _did_ tell you he was coming."

"...I knew that."

-

**To Be Continued...**

**Sorry about the delay, guys. As Kakashi would put it, I got lost on "the road of life."**

**At last, Kakashi appears again! They may be a bit out of character, but seriously guys, I doubt in the manga that Sakura and Kakashi would have actually gotten together (sadly). Another point is that **_**Firefight**_** is in the FUTURE and completely AU, where Sakura is an adult (23 years old) and Kakashi is somewhere around 36 years old. Therefore they will be a bit different.**

**I wanted this to be a light-hearted chapter where nothing really happens. Yes, I know it's short, my apologies. The next chapter will be longer to make up for it.**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**"****Firefight****" by JackieLupin**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto-sama.**

**Rated for language, battle sequences, and adult themes.**

-

And time stands still

Inside a picture

(I think of every word you say)

And time moves on to the next one

(I think of every word you said)

With every word you said

**-Acceptance,** "Breathless."

-

**CHAPTER FIVE**

-

Ten minutes later the mismatched group stood at the border of the training grounds. Naruto was still half asleep, though he looked rather excited as they waited for Kakashi to make his appearance. Sakura slouched against a tree impatiently, her foot counting down the seconds with every tap. Like Naruto she was excited too, though she hid her excitement behind annoyance. After five minutes of staring blankly at one another, Yamato offered, "We could warm up."

Naruto nodded and slung his bag to the ground where it hit with a resounding thud. "Kay, Sakura-chan," he said, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, "I'll take it easy on you-"

Sakura narrowed her eyes; was he seriously going to goad her? She packed a wallop of a punch that could down a fully-grown rhinoceros. Not to mention a mountain.

Her teammate barely had time to finish rolling up his sleeves before a well-aimed punch sent him flying back three feet. The bewildered expression that was plastered on his face almost made her laugh. But as the adrenaline raced through her veins, all time for humor was gone. In a flash, Sakura was next to him; her next jab flung him in the air. The third hit threw him back down on the ground. The fourth hit he managed to deflect, ducking underneath her wild punch.

Naruto's first punch grazed her cheek, and his second jabbed at her ribs.

Hissing in pain, she spun around and swiped at his legs with one of her own.

Naruto blocked it with his arm, slightly out of breath. Then he jumped up into the air with a victorious laugh and shot off into the canopy. "I thought we were just warming up!" he called back to her over his shoulder, blue eyes sparkling in his tan face. He raced through the trees, flinging branches out of his way.

She laughed and climbed up the trunk of the nearest tree to chase after her friend. "Yeah, well," she yelled at him, "This is more fun!" She ducked underneath the branch he pulled back and let go, narrowly missing those sharp bristles colliding with her face. Sakura sped up, her strong legs propelling her through the air, but a sudden, approaching presence made her give up the chase. Heart pounding, she turned around to look for the source of the familiar chakra signature.

Kakashi was walking towards Yamato and Sai, looking rather awkward without his Icha Icha. His silver hair was just as unkept as usual, though she wouldn't change a thing about it. He raised a hand in greeting to the two, then exchanged informal pleasantries with his fellow shinobi. Pride that Sakura had no business feeling spread over her; he was a good man, deep down underneath that cool, hard exterior.

Naruto too noticed the new visitor after he realized that Sakura had halted. "Kaka-sensei!" he shouted, jumping down from the canopy and loping over to his other teammates, "You made it!"

Kakashi glanced up at her. "Well, I promised I would."

Sakura jumped down and followed Naruto at a calmer pace. "You remembered," she teased quietly.

The Copy Ninja scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, well, if I hadn't-"

Whatever he was going to say was lost forever with the sudden presence of four new people in the training area. Two were standing next to the oak tree to her left, and the other two peered down from the leafy branches of the tree opposite their team. Sakura tensed and gripped her kunai; she hadn't even _sensed_ them approach! Were they friends or foes? Before her whirling mind got the best of her, she recognized the masks and realized the newcomers made up an ANBU squad. She relaxed, but didn't let go of her kunai. She trusted them, sure, but why they were here she had no idea.

One of the four ANBU stepped forward while the others hung back restlessly. "Yamato, Sai," he said in a deep, gravelly voice, "Report back to the Hokage immediately."

They both nodded curtly. "Hai, ANBU-sama," they said simultaneously. Yamato looked at the four of them. "Sorry," he shrugged with an apologetic smile, "Looks like we'll have to postpone this until we return."

"Good luck, Sai, Yamato-taichou," Sakura called as they shouldered their backs and prepared to leave, "We'll be here when you get back."

Yamato nodded curtly and glanced at Kakashi, then turned and took off from the clearing.

"Take care," Sai nodded at the three of them stiffly; he knew the words to say goodbye, but understanding their importance was a whole different story. The dark-haired artist hesitated for a moment, an unreadable emotion squinting his eyes and thinning his mouth. He smiled falsely, then reluctantly followed the older shinobi back to the Hokage's office in the middle of the hidden village.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked as soon as their two teammates disappeared into the canopy, throwing himself to the ground and sprawling out on his stomach, "I wonder what the rush was about." He rested his head on his arms and blew at a long strand of grass that stuck out from its companions. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, his eyes were hard and she could see the wheels turning.

Kakashi sighed and dropped his own pack. "Usually they don't send an ANBU squad to retrieve a shinobi," he mused thoughtfully, slouching against a tree and crossing his arms, "It must be urgent..."

A loud cry broke the quiet that had just descended into the training grounds after Kakashi's last words. Sakura jumped slightly and stiffened, hand still clenched around her drawn kunai. Naruto jumped to his feet and fell into a defensive position immediately, hands already forming the seals to the Replacement Jutsu.

Kakashi merely stood where he was; his arms remained crossed over his chest as a large messenger hawk glided down to eye level. The massive bird held out one leg in which it gripped a large scroll that was secured tightly by a piece of twine. Adrenaline raced through her veins, icy-hot, when Sakura realized it was an official mission scroll.

The older shinobi reached out and took the scroll from the bird. It took off moments later with another deafening relaxed and walked over to Kakashi. "A mission? What does it say?"

Kakashi broke the seal and unrolled the document. Sakura moved closer to him to read it over his shoulder, ignoring the way her stomach fluttered at their closeness. The writing was instantly recognizable as the Hokage's lazy scrawl, hastily written. A separate piece of paper fell out of the scroll; it was the blueprints to a building. She snatched it up and quickly scoured over it, memorizing its details even as Kakashi read the missive out loud.

_I don't have time to brief you on your mission_, the missive began, _Two hours ago I received confirmation of the location of an suspected enemy infiltration of one of our ANBU bases. The squads stationed at the base, Squad 6 and Squad 12, have failed to answer my messages. Your mission is simple; you will infiltrate the base, discover the fate of the other ANBU squads, and take back the base. It is imperative that we regain control of it once more. There are also civilians that run the control and research centers. They are a secondary objective, but if at all possible, discover and recover them._

Naruto heaved a sigh. "Sounds simple enough," he said glumly as she handed him the map to look at.

"Baka!" Sakura chided lightly, "You want a harder mission than this?" She rolled up the blueprints that Naruto handed back and gave them to Kakashi, who pocketed them absentmindedly as he continued.

_Sai's place on the team, who will be recalled for border duty along with an ANBU squad, will be temporarily filled by Hyuuga Neji. He has already been informed of the mission and will meet you at the west gates no later than midday. When the base is ours once more, signal by explosion. ANBU squads in the area will be able to reach you and help secure against any enemy reinforcements. May Kami protect you._

Sakura sighed. Any plans for a relaxing day with her team - and not to mention Kakashi- had just been washed down the drain. "We only have half an hour," she said, looking up at Kakashi and Naruto, "I need to go home and pack; why don't we all meet at the gate?" When Naruto nodded, she rounded on Kakashi. "Kami help you if you're late! I swear-"

Kakashi held up his hands and laughed. "I'll be there, Sakura, I promise-"

"On time!" Naruto added quickly, sealing all loopholes before Kakashi exploited them.

"Okay, okay!"

-

"All done," she announced to herself as she folded the last shirt and stuffed it in her pack.

She straightened her black leather gloves and belted the pants that she had just unceremoniously hiked up over her hips. She was wearing a simple black tank top over netting that covered her from hands to neck and tight, black pants with many pockets. In the plethora of pockets she slipped small things, like a protein bar for when she got hungry, as well as a couple of bandage rolls, a small, flat knife and a smoke bomb. She hooked her kunai pouch on the belt, then slipped on her boots and laced up the strings. Grabbing and shouldering her backpack, Sakura turned around to leave her room.

The light glinting off of a picture stopped her.

It was the one of her team those many years ago... Sakura stared at it for a moment, unsure of why it had caught her attention. After a long pause, she reached over and slammed the picture frame face-down on her bureau and then left the room.

-

It was no surprise that when Sakura arrived at the west gate there was just one other person standing there.

"Hyuuga Neji," she greeted wearily as she approached, mentally picturing how best to torture her other teammates for their chronic tardiness, "Nice day, huh?" She moved to stand next to him and glare out at the crowd that milled around them, hoping that in the next couple of seconds her eyes would train on two tall men, one with spiky blond hair and the other with a mop of silver.

The Hyuuga raised an eyebrow at her and grinned at her obvious exasperation. "Haruno Sakura. To your question, yes, the weather is very pleasant," he said sarcastically, his voice deep and smooth, "Of course, we have a mission to complete so we can't really savor this moment. Speaking of which, where is your team?"

She sighed and took a seat on a nearby bench, dropping her pack beside her. "I have no idea," she sighed heavily, rubbing her face with her hands, "Sorry about this. It's _always_ like this."

Neji took a seat beside her. "I would nod in agreement, but my team is usually punctual."

Sakura rolled her green eyes at him. "Yeah, well, not all of us have a team such as yours."

The dark-haired Hyuuga chuckled. "We are certainly one of a kind." He folded his arms, sweeping in the long sleeves of his robe. He was wearing his usual white robe with the grey tails, paired with standard-issue sandals and white flak pants. His left arm was wrapped, the other left bare except for the support wrapped around his knuckles. Neji hadn't changed at all, Sakura realized; he was still the same man she knew from their Chuunin years.

The pink-haired kunoichi was just about to ask how his teammates were when she was interrupted by the arrival of one very-late teammate. It was Naruto; his blond hair was tousled and his jacket hung off of one arm as he hopped down the street trying to secure his other sandal. Neji raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sakura in amusement. However, she wasn't very amused, and pointedly refused to look at him. This was so embarrassing...

"You're late," she muttered, blushing slightly.

"Sorry!" Naruto laughed with a shrug, "I ran into H-... well, I ran into a friend."

Neji suddenly stiffened and glared. "What friend?" he asked coldly, his voice dangerous.

Naruto realized his mistake and folded his arms over his chest. "Inuzuka Hana," he lied smoothly, "She said to say hello to Sakura for me."Inwardly she sighed. Naruto had never been a good liar, but this... this was painful to watch. Neji's pale eyes were narrowed and hard, glinting like diamonds on Naruto's tight, defensive face. The seconds ticked by with the tension growing, and still neither man said anything. Just when Sakura was about to consider pummeling them both just to break the tension, Naruto looked away. "Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

"Late," Neji growled, not quite ready to let his anger go nor change the subject, "What, may I ask, are you doing with Hin-"

"There he is," Sakura interrupted, relieved that he finally decided to show himself.

His silver hair was like a beacon for his location; she could see him make his way through the crowd slowly and leisurely, as if they didn't have a mission that needed attending to. As if this was just a simple stroll through the park. He looked utterly unconcerned, but then again, emotions were hard to read when she couldn't see the set of his jaw or mouth. Kakashi met her eyes as he approached them, hands deep in his pockets. "Sorry I'm late," he said rather cheerfully, now pointedly ignoring the glare she shot at him, "There was a-"

"Let's just go," Naruto growled, turning away and walking to the gate, "We've wasted enough time."

Kakashi shrugged and followed him quite nonchalantly. She raised an eyebrow at him and watched them go. Sakura exchanged a glance with an exasperated Neji. "Like he weren't the one who held us up," Neji whispered quietly to her under his breath, "What is going on with-"

"Drop it," she said firmly.

Neji stared at her, affronted.

Sakura quickly softened her words. "Look, Neji, Hinata is her own person, and she can make her own choices."

Instead of relieving him, that just seemed to aggravate the Hyuuga shinobi even more. "What _kind_ of a choice?"

She shook her head and shouldered her pack. "She'll tell you." She jogged ahead to catch up with the rest of her team, the Hyuuga right behind her. Silently they walked through the west gates and onto the dirt road that took them away through Fire country. Just as quickly, the team casually walked off the path and faded into the forest around it.

Sixty miles to the west lied the base. It was an outpost that she had seen countless times on the way to other missions, but she had never set foot inside of it before. And that was where they were headed.

She followed her three teammates, silently preparing herself for battle. She tried not to look at Kakashi more than was normal, but she found her eyes wandering over his form despite her resolve not to do so. If he noticed, he didn't say anything or do anything that meant he noticed. In lieu of a mission, Sakura was only slightly disappointed that the full day they would spend together in Konoha didn't work out. At least she would see him for a couple hours.

Three hours passed in this fashion. Naruto and Neji didn't speak as the minutes passed by; both seemed cold and angry. It was no secret that while Neji called Naruto a friend, the fact that he was 'seducing' the Hyuuga heiress away from her teammate made him angry. Neji was protective enough of Hinata as it was. Naruto was now a threat even though his intentions were pure.

Sakura breathed a huge sigh of relief when the compound finally came into sight. She hid herself behind a couple of scraggly thorn bushes to inspect the area. Even though her teammates had their chakra masked, she could still sense them, if only barely. Afterall, she had been around them for about ten years now; familiar chakra signatures could be sensed even if their shinobi was doing his or her utmost to hide it. Kakashi was about fifty feet away from her. She couldn't see him, but she knew where he was all the same. Naruto was almost halfway in between them, and Neji was on her right about twenty feet away and approaching her quietly.

She looked at him as he came over. His pale eyes were glinting in the gold afternoon light as they searched the area even as he whispered, "I don't sense anything."

Allowing a tiny sliver of chakra to escape, Sakura closed her eyes and just _felt._ She could feel the energy of the birds chattering around overhead, could feel the rabbits hiding in their burrows, and feel the fox that was hot on the trail of his next meal. Kakashi's signature was more pronounced now, and Naruto's was so strong it was like he was standing next to her. But she felt nothing else. "Nothing," she whispered back, "That's...odd."

"It feels like we're walking into a trap," the Hyuuga muttered, scowling, "I hate this feeling. Are we the hunters, or the hunted?"

She had no response to that.

Neji glanced up over at Kakashi. She felt the shinobi flare his chakra once, twice. The signal to approach the compound. Masking her chakra completely - she sensed Naruto and Neji do the same - she stepped out from her hiding place and carefully vanished into the underbrush as she approached the ominous building. The sun was setting now, the darkness creeping into the woods as the orange light from the sun bathed all it touched in a sickly glow. _Great_, she thought, _It is going to be pitch black in there._

Kakashi touched the door, running his gloved hands up and down its length, searching. He turned the handle and pushed gently; the door swung open. She frowned. Why wouldn't it be locked?

Neji entered first, then motioned for them to follow. Sakura ran in after Naruto as Kakashi closed the door behind them. She waited patiently for her eyes to adjust to the light; all she could sense was her teammates in front of her. She tried to ignore Kakashi's presence behind her; he was too close for her liking, but not close enough at the same time. Tense, she waited. Beside her, Naruto shifted his weight, obviously impatient to go.

A touch on her arm nearly made her jump a foot in the air. Kakashi gently moved her to the side so he could walk past them into the darkness. Sakura held her breath for a few seconds, trying to now ignore the tingles that ran up her arm from just that single touch. Was it just her imagination, or did he hold on to her for longer than was necessary? When he walked by, she rubbed her arm in the place that he touched, glad that it was dark enough that her other teammates could not see what she was doing.

"Grab my hand," Naruto whispered, "I have Kakashi."

Sakura searched in the dark, then gripped the warm hand her friend offered her. She tapped Neji's shoulder - or where she thought Neji's shoulder was - and took his hand as well. Thus Kakashi lead the way down the pitch black corridor as the younger shinobi followed.

They continued this way for what felt like twenty minutes, even though inwardly she knew it was probably about five. The darkness was heavy on their shoulders, and the air was stuffy and dank. It hung in the air as if there hadn't been a window or a door open in years. The only things they could hear were each other's breathing and footsteps.

"First things first," she heard Kakashi whisper from the front of the odd formation, "We find the ANBU teams and any civilians. Then we take back control of the base."

Suddenly, a noise filled the area. Sakura jumped and released her teammates hands to immediately whip out a kunai. Kakashi backed up until his back bumped into her shoulder; defensively, Sakura spun around until they were back to back. She couldn't see anything or feel anything. She didn't want to risk unmasking her chakra and giving away their location. Next to her she felt Naruto; she gripped the sleeve of his jacket with her free hand.

Smoke filled the corridor. Coughing, Sakura struggled to catch her breath and discover the source of the smoke bomb. Someone was there, playing with them.

"Go!" Kakashi said hoarsely, his presence fading as he ran. Neji followed suit, quickly disappearing into the gloom. Naruto tugged at her arm, pulling her with him a couple feet before releasing her once they were moving. Sakura followed blindly, one hand over her mouth and nose. She hit something hard; a wall. No time to be embarrassed. Hastily she spun to her right and fled down the hallway to what was hopefully cleaner air. Her body ached as her lungs begged for air, but she couldn't breathe now. The taste of smoke was still strong in the air. She grew dizzy, and her movements grew weaker. She hung a left as she felt the wall end, then hung another left ten feet away.

Sakura fell to her knees, dropping her kunai. She kept one hand on the wall to orient herself as she drew in a deep breath of air, unable to hold it any longer. Immediately the dizziness went away, but she was left gasping and choking for air. When she had recovered, she glanced around. There was no one there. "Kakashi," she breathed quietly. No answer. She pulled herself up against the wall and waited.

Minutes passed with no sound, no answer. Her ears started ringing.

She gritted her teeth together and searched the darkness with wide eyes. Where _were_ they? Irritation and agitation were starting to make her impatient as she waited for _something_ to happen. Sakura didn't want to call out again; she had no idea if friend or foe would stumble on her hiding place. But she couldn't just stay where she was, otherwise sooner or later she would be discovered. So what to do?

Sakura sat still for a few more minutes, contemplating what her next plan of action would be. She would have to count on just herself; there might not be any backup available. And while she knew her team was skilled, they were in the middle of an operation. "Okay," she whispered finally, picturing the map of the compound in her head; objective one was to find what happened to the ANBU squads. Objective two was to retake control of the base. For now, Sakura would head towards the detention blocks and try to find the rest of the squad. And if she met up with her other teammates on the way, then great. For now, she would be solo. _Just like I was trained,_ she thought wryly, thinking of her mentor and Hokage.

Noiselessly she straightened up and slipped into the hallway, a dark black shadow that blended with the walls. She avoided the circle of light coming from the intersecting hallway, pausing momentarily only to check to see that the coast was clear. Satisfied that for the moment she was alone, Sakura continued on her way, one slender hand clenching a fistful on senbon.

_Left,_ she chanted inwardly, turning down the corridor and skirting around the next light that threatened to reveal her in its eerie glow. _Three halls down, then left, then right. _She emerged into a long corridor that was much wider than the others. "The main hall," she whispered, peering in the darkness to make sure no one else was with her.

Deciding to take a chance, she knelt to the floor and ever-so-slightly let a thread of chakra escape its firm cage. She sensed no other chakra signatures, not even slight traces. There wasn't even a single trace of energy that a civilian would give off. That either meant that no one was there and no one had been in this area for a long time, or it meant that all shinobi were hidden. Sakura masked her chakra again and slowly peered around the corner again.

Still no one.

Carefully, making sure her boots didn't scuff on the floor, the pink-haired kunoichi took off, jogging very lightly. The faster the better. This corridor was creepy to begin with; although it was wide and obviously one of the major hallways that connected the base from one end to the other, there were no doors or windows. She kept on, tired emerald eyes straining to see in the dark. She hoped she made it to the detention blocks soon, and hoped even more fervently that the two ANBU squads and countless civilians were alive.

She suddenly realized that she was getting no closer to the end of the hallway, no matter how much she ran. She stopped and flung her back against the wall, searching the darkness for the trap. But the only thing that met her was silence. She shifted the senbon to her other hand to wipe her sweaty palm against her pants, then gripped them again. Still, nothing approached her. There was no living energy that she could sense in this part of the building.

But this was a genjutsu.

Sakura formed the appropriate hand seals and whispered, "Kai." The sudden swell of chakra released itself with her whisper, suddenly exploding and dissolving the genjutsu. She waited silently in the darkness for a moment, hoping that her chakra spike wouldn't alert any enemy shinobi to her presence. Hesitantly, she stood up and moved a couple steps down the corridor. This time, the door moved closer with every step she took to meet it. With a sigh of relief, she continued.

_Right. Left. Straight, then the second right. Left. Right. Right again. Left and straight._

Sakura was a little concerned. She had not felt one signature this entire time, had not felt one life-force. She had no idea where her other teammates were, and had no idea how to send a message to them.

Just as she was rounding a corner, a noise made her stop. She flung herself to the side and rolled back, hoping she made it in time not to be spotted. Even as she righted herself and stared down the hall, four people walked by. Sakura was astounded; they were shinobi, but she couldn't feel their chakra signatures. She only knew they were shinobi because of their graceful and powerful walk. The balance in which they moved. That was the only thing that gave them away, for their clothing was nondescript and casual, to say the least. She only had three brief seconds to learn as much information as she could about them, for then they were gone, having passed by her corridor to continue on their way.

_That means that there is something that blocks chakra signatures in here,_ she thought, _I can use as much as I want and still not be detected. But why would they want to block all chakra signatures? They'd be shutting off a major defense... so why?_ Unsure of that question, Sakura counted to five silently before getting to her feet once more and heading from where the four shinobi had come from. _I hope the others are okay._ Just as she thought of them, she shook her head. _Can't think about them now._ She had a job to do.

Five minutes later Sakura was crouched outside of the doors leading to the detention blocks. After her initial shock at seeing other shinobi, she had seen no one else besides the ones who they had run into previously. Taking a few long, deep breaths, she waited in the darkness, ears straining to hear any kind of noise. But all was silent.

She pushed the door open and slipped inside, hoping that the slight light coming from inside wasn't disturbed. Immediately she crouched behind what appeared to be a pile of empty crates to wait. The room was barren except for what looked like a single lab table in the middle of the room, piled with empty flasks and bottles that once held a plethora of substances. She sniffed the air; it smelled like the bottles and vials held antiseptic and herb poultices. There were bandages and splits piled on one corner of the table that supported her findings. At the far end of the room were cell blocks, barred and gated.

She had found the detention blocks.

Carefully she got to her feet and approached the cells. The light was dim and only illuminated the middle of the room and the lab table, so Sakura couldn't be sure if there was anyone inside the blocks. It was the small shifting sound of a body that alerted her that there was indeed someone there. She inched closer, but still wasn't able to make out a form in the darkness. Thankful that using her chakra wouldn't alert any enemy shinobi to her presence, Sakura concentrated a ball of chakra in her palm. Immediately the light from her chakra flooded the rest of the room.

A face stared up at her, its eyes fixed on her. She jumped back as she realized that the man was dead. His face was pale white and ashy. His eyes, though open, were stone. Sakura fell back another step and clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting in horror and surprise. She shook her head as if to clear it and continued.

The next cell over, however, held an occupant, and he was very much alive.

At first she thought the man was Sasuke. He had dark hair that fell forward into his eyes and similar pale features. Her heart pounded and her brain refused to work for a few seconds. Could it really be the Uchiha? A strangled cry fell past her lips. The man stirred and looked up at her groggily. It was just a trick of the light. Just something her overactive imagination decided to conjure up. Not Sasuke.

This man had green eyes, and his hair wasn't black, it was brown. "Genma," she breathed, immediately crouching down next to him and touching his neck to check his vitals. "Genma, can you hear me?"The shinobi groaned and turned his head away from her as she poked and prodded him. "S-Sakura?"

"Yeah, it's me," she whispered back, searching his body for any injuries. Besides a bandage on his arm, he appeared to be okay. "We're here, now. You're safe."

He groaned again and tried to focus on her face. "Just... just you?"

"Kakashi is here. And Naruto and Hyuuga Neji too."

"But.. where?" he asked.

She realized he hadn't moved anything but his head. "Genma, listen to me, okay? Can you move your feet? Wiggle your toes?" She waited with bated breath, hoping that his body hadn't been compromised. She shot another glance at the lab table that lay in the middle of the room. Did those potions also have a purpose for interrogation?

Genma nodded and shifted his foot slightly. "Mm... drugged."

"Drugged?" Sakura asked, lifting one of his eyelids to check his pupils. They were dilated. "Okay," she whispered, "Okay. Wait here for a second. I'm not leaving you, I just need to check-"

"I'm the only one," Genma slurred, shaking his head, "They...they are d-dead." He slumped back against the cell wall and closed his eyes.

Sakura sighed and let his arm drop. She gently inserted a small flicker of chakra into his veins and let it run through his body. A few seconds later, she realized that other than his sleepy state, Genma was healthy. She left him momentarily to check the other cells, knowing already what she would find. Two more were dead, a woman with short dark hair who she vaguely recognized and a man she had never seen before. This must be the rest of Genma's team. But where was the other ANBU team? And the civilians who also were employed here?

She was suddenly aware of a noise coming from the door that she had entered. Laying a hand on Genma's shoulder - a sign she hoped would tell him to keep silent - she moved towards the door silently. She crouched on the other side of the empty crates, a hand already reaching into her kunai pouch and wrapping around the cool metal. A shadow blocked the light and flickered to the left- there was definitely someone there. She tensed and waited to spring out of her cover and hopefully neutralize the danger before others were alerted that she was there.

The door was flung open so abruptly Sakura jumped a few inches. A hand shot out and caught the door before it slammed on the opposite wall just as she leapt out and flung her kunai at the intruder. She raced behind her kunai with her fists clenched and ready. She punched, but the intruder ducked with a hasty, "Sakura, stop, it's me!"

She stopped and squinted in the dark. Only one man she knew had silver hair that stuck up like his did, only one who towered nearly a full head over her. "You idiot," she softly hissed as Kakashi handed her back the kunai he had caught, "I could have-"

He chuckled and stepped around her. "Yes, if I wasn't aware of your techniques and how you fight." More seriously, he asked, "Did anyone make it?"

She led him over to Genma, who appeared to have fallen back under the effects of the drugs. "Genma is alive. He's okay, just heavily sedated. We'll have to carry him out. The others..." Sakura watched quietly as Kakashi knelt beside the other bodies to inspect them, ripping off the glove on his right hand to touch the body. A couple seconds later, he motioned for her to come closer.

"What do you make of this?" Kakashi asked, holding back the flap of the ANBU vest to show her a mottled bruise surrounding a single, small puncture wound. "Poison?"

She crouched beside him and placed her hand on the wound. It _felt_ bad even before she used chakra to reveal the internal injuries. "Yes," she said simply, "The other two must have died in the same manner."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Genma and his squad were transferred here only days ago. Usually shinobi keep their prisoners much longer than this."

"Maybe they refused to talk." She didn't really want to think about what had happened, sad only that it had, and to Konoha ANBU to boot. "Kakashi... Naruto and Neji, do you-"

"They're fine," he answered immediately, "They are leading six civilians back out of the base as we speak. The second ANBU squad is dead as well, all with the same kind of puncture wounds." He got to his feet and tugged his glove back on, then looked at her. "We need to get Genma and the civilians to safety first. Then I plan to enter again to secure the base. We can't do it right now."

Sakura nodded. "I agree."

Kakashi smiled at her. "So much for my promise, huh?"

"It's okay," she chuckled, hoping she wasn't flushing under his gaze, "This counts for a day." Whenever he smiled... there was an ache in her chest that tugged sharply. Why did that pain feel so nice?

She wished she could understand what that sudden glint in his eye meant after she spoke. It was frustrating at times not being able to read him like she was able to read Naruto, and even at times Sai. She shook her head and turned away from him instead. This was neither the time nor the place to lose herself in daydreams.

Genma was out cold at her feet; it didn't even appear like he had been awake moments before and talking with her, he was so lifeless. Sakura forced herself not to think the worst and just get him to safety. Crouching down beside the older shinobi, she flung his cumbersome arm over her shoulders and straightened with a groan as she supported their combined weight on her legs. "Can you-" the silver-haired shinobi asked, before shaking his head at the glare she sent him, "Alright, alright."

They moved into the corridor silently, three dark shadows against an even darker backdrop. Her ears roared with the silence that was only punctuated by Genma's soft breathing every now and then. Kakashi lead the way, inching carefully through the hallways, sniffing the air occasionally. Sakura felt so cut off, so naked without being able to sense the chakra signatures of her companions, or even of herself. There was just a sickening emptiness inside of her. She could _feel_ her own chakra, but she couldn't _sense_ it. It wasn't smell, or sight, or even taste. A chakra signature was more like an image, a feeling that rolled over the body. For Kakashi, she usually felt a wind, and imagined more than saw the way water rippled when the wind blew over its surface. Naruto's was like fire, warming and reaching as far as it could. Neji's felt like smooth stones, warming in the sun. Genma's usually felt like the ground beneath her feet and the way it trembled when walked upon.

So intent was she on trying to remember the sensation of chakra signatures that she almost walked head-first into Kakashi when he stopped dead. Instead, the kunoichi glanced up just in time to see him stop, and hastily took a step backwards to avoid colliding with him. He briefly looked over his shoulder at her with a silver eyebrow raised in question. She stared back nonchalantly, hoping that the dim of the corridor would hide her blush from him.

"Kakashi," she said suddenly, hoping he would know the reason she couldn't sense anything, "Chakra-"

"I know," he replied, "It's a part of the base. It's the walls. Something about them absorb chakra signatures, leaving nothing."

"But why? It makes defending this place even harder."

"I don't think that Konoha did this. I think this is the work of whoever has control of this base now."

Ten minutes later and Sakura was starting to feel edgy. Every small noise had her jumping slightly like a skittish cat would jump at its own shadow. Kakashi seemed as cool and collected as ever, but the tension radiating from him told her otherwise. There was just a bad feeling in the air; she was sure that her old sensei could even smell it, for his nose was as good as Kiba's. She paused; she hadn't thought of Kiba in the longest time. Only a slight tinge of hurt radiated through her at his name. Maybe she had finally gotten over the hurt that the dog-shinobi caused her, accepted it and moved on.

There was a soft footstep from their left, and then the sound of metal on metal that had the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

Even as Kakashi yelled, "Sakura!" she threw herself forward onto the floor, taking Genma down with her as the kunai whipped past their heads to clatter on the wall behind them. The sedated shinobi groaned as he hit the stone floor but then was still, settling back into his drug-induced stupor. Sakura crouched beside Genma, shielding him with her body. For the umpteenth time that day she cursed whoever came up with the idea to make sure that chakra could not be detected inside the walls.

When she heard Kakashi growl, she looked up. Standing before them were the four shinobi she had seen earlier, plus another two that rivaled Chouji in height and bulk. Her breath caught; they were severely outnumbered, and with Genma out for the count-

Sakura reached behind her to grab a fistful of kunai, already knowing that the narrow hallways would prove to be a hindrance in battle. There wouldn't be much room to maneuver in here at all. She glanced at Genma; if they even got close to him, they would kill him. But it would be hard to protect him while protecting themselves. So what to do?

Kakashi attacked first, a blur of silver, green and gray that flashed from wall to wall in the dim lighting. Then there were three Kakashi's, each one battling three of their enemy. That left three that slipped past him and their other teammates to head towards Sakura. One was burly and tall; he must have been a guard, for he was still wearing the uniform. One was cloaked and had a staff gripped tightly in his hands. His face wasn't visible under the hood, and for a fleeting instant Sakura was reminded of Daeco, the monster she had killed on her last scouting mission. The last was one of the shinobi she had seen earlier after being separated from the others; he had a katana, drawn and ready. With a curse, she flung her kunai; it was deflected by the Stone shinobi with the katana, just like she knew it would be. Her instincts told her weapons would be useless. She had to fight with them at a close range so she could protect Genma at the same time.

She concentrated her chakra into her hands until they glowed with a yellow-green light. She had actually copied the technique from the Healers at the hospital in Konoha, except it was the complete opposite of its intention. Instead of healing from the inside out, this specific technique of hers would _kill_ from the inside out. All she had to do was get close enough to touch them. The male shinobi hidden in his long cloak stopped and smirked at her. "Ladies belong at home," he taunted at her, crossing his arms over his staff.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. He didn't think she was dangerous? She was jounin level dammit! With a cry of fury, she leapt forward and slammed her fist into the bridge of his nose. She felt blood spurt over her hand as bone snapped with an awful _crack_. He died instantly from shards of bone that lodged their way inside his brain. She didn't look at the body that lay at her feet; she knew the face would be mangled beyond recognition underneath the hood. Trying to ignore the hot blood that soaked her hands, she focused on the shinobi in front of her. The remaining two shinobi balked slightly, then seemed to remember how to work in pairs. Both rushed her at the same time; one was wielding a katana in one hand, and she had no doubt that he knew how to use it. The other had an evil-looking knife. She didn't want to be hit with either. Hoping that the corridor would be stable enough not to cave in on them, Sakura grabbed Genma and raced down the hallway, hoping that they would follow. They did.

Getting as far away from Kakashi as possible - she didn't want to hurt him - Sakura let Genma slide to the ground as she retraced her steps. The shinobi with the katana was the first to draw even with her as she ran back through the corridor. She ducked underneath his swing, but wasn't fast enough for his second. A line of pain originated across her abdomen, followed by the metallic smell of blood on the air. She winced and drew her fist back, chakra concentrated and ready for impact. As soon as her fist hit the low ceiling, a deafening rumble followed as the stones from the walls piled down around her. Blindly she threw her weight back to land near Genma, trying to shield him from the boulders that were raining down on them. She cried out as a particularly jagged one connected solidly with her back; that was definitely going to leave a bruise.

Sakura crouched on the ground and covered her head with her arms as the rubble fell down around them. Two seconds later, the rumbling stopped and the air was filled with dust. Genma stirred underneath her, groggily blinking as the dust slowly cleared away from the air. She looked up; the hallway was darker than before. The cave-in blocked out the light from the other side. Kakashi!

The pink-haired kunoichi scrambled to her feet and stumbled over to the pile of stone that separated them from Kakashi. Desperately she tried to listen for any sound of life on the other side, but there was nothing. She hoped that he was alright. She knew he was more than capable of looking after himself in fights, but still, she couldn't help but worry. With a sigh, Sakura turned around to look at Genma.

He grinned at her lazily. "What'd I miss?" he slurred slightly, eyes still unfocused.

"Nothing important," she answered distractedly, peering around the corridor. It didn't appear that anyone had noticed all of the commotion, otherwise they would most likely be surrounded. Frankly, Sakura didn't want to push her luck by staying where she was any longer. She turned to glance at Genma. "Stay back, okay? This will just take a second."

He nodded and gave her a weak thumbs-up. "As you say, cherry blossom."

She walked back over to the pile of rubble sitting in the middle of the corridor. "Kakashi?" she called tentatively, "Kakashi, if you can hear me, stand back, okay?" She waited a couple seconds just to be safe, then concentrated chakra in her palm just as she had done moments before. She coiled up, then smashed her fist into the middle of the rock pile. With a shuddering groan the rocks were shot to the floor. She winced and cracked her bruised knuckles. "Enough for today," she said to herself before walking over to the sitting shinobi and hauling him to his feet, "C'mon, let's go."

Genma nodded, eyes slipping shut again. His feet dragged on the floor beside them, his weight threatening to collapse them both. Sakura gritted her teeth and stepped over the rocks, yanking Genma along with her. Two bodies lay at her feet; the guard had been crushed by the rocks. The other one who had taunted her lay a couple feet away, face down on the floor. Two feet away from the dead men was a tall silhouette, leaning lazily against the wall. She sighed with relief as she realized it was just Kakashi.

He was staring at her bemusedly. "Should have seen that coming, I suppose," he teased. It was just then that Sakura noticed the egg-sized lump gracing his head.

She winced apologetically. "Ouch."

Kakashi just shrugged. "I'm getting old," he responded with an eye-crease, "I should have moved out of the way." He looked at Genma. "Still as lazy as ever." He walked over and hooked Genma's other arm over his shoulder, helping her support the sedated and unconscious man. "Let's get out of here."

Together they moved through the rubble and continued on their way.

-

It was not ten minutes later when Sakura heard raised voices begin to echo throughout the compound. They began softly, so softly that she was sure she was just imagining them. Sakura couldn't deny that they were just figments of her imagination when even her teammate tensed and stopped to look around. She glanced at Kakashi with an eyebrow raised. "If that's Naruto," she whispered heatedly, "he's dead."

Kakashi chuckled. "I think that means that they're okay."

Just to be sure, the odd company waited in the shadows, the two on either side barely breathing while one snored away unsuspectingly in the middle. As the voices came closer and closer, Sakura could also hear footsteps, and lots of them. It _must_ be Naruto and Neji with the civilians. "Stay here?" she whispered to Kakashi, ducking under Genma's arm and stepping out into the corridor. Without waiting for a response from the older man, she tiptoed down the hall and peered to the left.

No one yet, though the noise was getting louder.

She fervently hoped that no more enemy ninja heard them coming, though she knew it was foolish to wish that, for the group that was moving so quickly through the compound were making enough noise to wake a village from a mile away. Sure enough there was a gaggle of people speeding down the hallway.

Naruto roared as soon as he saw her. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled, "We need to get out of here! NOW!"

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked, racing over to him, "What's going on?" Six terrified civilians stared at her with pale faces. They were clothed in an assortment of jackets that someone might find at a lab; three were wearing the white lab coats, one was wearing a simple robe, and the other two had grease covering their raggedy, patched clothing.

"Stone shinobi," Naruto panted as they ran, "They're going to blow the base. We have only a couple minutes before it goes!"

Sakura turned to glance behind her as Naruto ushered and herded the civilians through the corridor that led to Kakashi and Genma. "Where is Neji?" she demanded.

"Holding them back- as long as he can!"

With a curse, Sakura rounded on Naruto. "Get them out of here," she ordered, "I'm going to help Neji. Kakashi is down that hallway with Genma. No matter what happens, keep going, okay?"

Naruto stared at her with shaded blue eyes. Then he nodded and closed his mouth, his eyes narrowing in determination. "I'll kill you if anything happens to you," he said furiously, then slapped her on her back and took off down the hall to meet up with Kakashi and Genma. She watched him for a moment and was both saddened and happy to realize once more how much her friend had grown up. She saw a man now - a very tall and energetic man - leading six men to safety, no matter what it took.

Neji.

Sakura took off, ignoring the twinge of pain from her abdomen as she all but flew down the hallway. It wouldn't be too hard to find the Hyuuga; once the pounding of footsteps faded away behind her she could clearly hear the tell-tale clashes and scuffs of fighting ahead. She sprinted around a corner and gathered chakra in her fists, preparing to leap into the fray. Sure enough when she rounded the last corner there was a mess of shinobi in the mess hall, all surrounding one blur of white and black in the middle.

With a yell, Sakura launched herself at the nearest group of shinobi, fist already aiming to kill. Three turned their backs on Neji's brutal attack to face her instead; one died instantly from the impact of her fist. The two others leapt away to regroup. She spun around on her heel to stop her momentum just as one of them attacked. She blocked the first punch and was forced to duck underneath the second kick as the chamber shook with a deafening roar. The very ground was trembling underneath her feet.

The pink-haired kunoichi gasped in pain as she was suddenly sent flying through the air. She watched the stone fly away underneath her and closed her eyes tightly, bracing herself for the inevitable impact. She hit the ground just as hard as she feared, bruising her knee and scraping the side of her arm. "Dammit," she gasped breathlessly, struggling to pull herself upright. But she wasn't fast enough; she barely had time to look up at the shinobi standing in front of her before she was flying through the air yet again.

Blood dribbled from her mouth onto the stone floor once she was grounded again. "That's it," she groaned, "No more." Using all of her willpower, she pulled herself to her feet and swayed. There were only five shinobi left standing, and with every tremble of the ground they seemed more and more ready to leave. Even as she looked around the room three Stone shinobi turned around to leave the building before it collapsed. Neji spun and kicked his opponent square in the jaw; the shinobi did not get up, but neither did Neji.

"Sakura," Neji greeted wearily as she ran over to him, wiping a trail of blood from his chin, "You look like I feel." Somehow, the Hyuuga pulled himself to his feet and balanced on one leg.

"Thanks," she bit out sarcastically, eyeing the two shinobi that remained warily. "The whole place is caving in," she called over to them, "In a few minutes we'll all be dead. Are you really going to wait for that to happen?"

"We-we have orders!" one of them called back, but the other hesitantly moved to the door.

"Get out of here," Sakura said tiredly, "We have no further quarrel with you at this moment." Her stomach was beginning to throb with a dull, constant ache. She was at her limit for excitement for the day.

Neji sighed with utter relief as the two Stone shinobi left without another word. "Let's get out of here," he muttered, limping to the exit, a pained grimace accompanying his every step.

"Remind me to look at your leg when we're out of here," she said, walking over to the wounded Hyuuga to help him move along faster, "Right now we just need to find the exit."

"Byakugan!" the dark-haired shinobi said as he allowed Sakura to tow him behind her as she sped down the hall, focusing a good amount of chakra into her legs just so they could make it out of the building in time. "Take a left, then two rights; here, Sakura!" Her chakra was draining at an alarming rate. She hoped she would have enough chakra to get them out of the building before it collapsed. Neji wasn't going to be able to help much; his leg lay at a twisted angle that nauseated her to look at.

The hair on the back of her neck began to prickle. _No,_ she thought desperately, _Not yet! Just wait a couple more minutes!_ She thought they were getting closer to the exit; the air seemed cleaner, not as dank and thick.

"Hurry," Neji whispered hoarsely, "We don't have much time."

Even as he whispered, there was an earth-shaking explosion from behind them. The entire building trembled with the aftershock of it and Sakura almost lost her footing.

She ran and ran. Her stomach ached and the muscles in her legs cramped and pulled, but she knew she couldn't stop just yet. With every breath came a sharp pain. Neji tried to help, but his broken leg only served to send them stumbling a couple of steps. After several terse minutes of running for their lives, Sakura thought she could see light. Fire boiled and bubbled behind them.

"There!" the Hyuuga shouted as the building gave one last shudder before there was a deafening roar. The building was collapsing behind them! Neji quickly released his hold around her shoulders to grab her waist; with a push of his good leg, he sent them flying as far as he could as the last of her chakra was drained. She clung to him tightly as they flew, closing her eyes and covering her head with her hands as fire raced on behind them.

_Did we make it_? she asked herself quietly, unable to bring herself to open her eyes. Her last regret was not being able to see Kakashi again, to at least tell him what he meant to her. _Will I ever have that chance?_

They hit something solid, and then all was black.

-

**Hello all! I'm not dead, just busy. This might be the longest chapter I've written for 'Firefight' yet, so consider it as an apologetic gift for taking so long to get this chapter out. Hope you liked it!**

**Over and out.**

**-Jackie**


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